Interviews, Irritations and Inamoratas
by Neuropsych
Summary: COMPLETE) A camera team comes to the SGC... A Campers! story, so count on things being my way.. (Rated for possible language)
1. 01

_**Interviews, Irritations and Inamoratas**_

_Author's Note: Okay, this is the Camera Crew story in my Campers! series. As much as I love to dole out cliffhangers left and right – and you'll all undoubtedly see a ton of them in this story – I'm not going to leave you all hanging on the one point everyone has been asking about. That said; I'm not going to kill off Janet Fraiser in this story. (So if you're waiting for that, read a different story) I think killing her was a mistake on the show, and can you imagine how much better season 8 would be if they hadn't killed her? I was going to do it – just because they did it in the show, and in Scion I made a slight reference to it – but I decided that hey! this is my AU, and I've already made it so different from the show by bringing Jack and Sam (and Daniel and Sally) together – not mention Jaffer, who definitely should be on the show in my humble opinion. Why not do what I want?_

_That said, here we go!_

Disclaimer: I don't own SG-1, or any of the characters I didn't make up. I just borrow them.

OOOOOOOOOO

"How do they feel, Colonel?" 

Jack ran his hand along his ribs, feeling the rough skin that had only moments before been held together with a neat row of stitches. A _long_, neat row of stitches.

"Feels fine, Doc," he said, looking down at his side. It _looked_ pretty good, too. In a few weeks the scar would be just another mark on a body that had already seen more than its fair share of injuries. Even now, Janet was taking his other hand to hold it and remove the stitches that were in his forearm. Then she'd move on to his upper thigh, where there was yet another row there. All were Jack O'Neill's reminder of his latest battle with a race of assassins name Ashrak. "You do good work."

Janet smiled at the compliment, thinking that Jack was probably just glad to be back on the base after an enforced absence while he healed.

"You give me plenty of practice, Colonel."

It was his turn to smile.

"Well... you know me..."

"Uh huh."

Fraiser carefully pulled the last of the stitches out of his forearm, then out of his thigh. Jack watched her, but didn't say anything else until she was finished. She was good enough that she didn't really need to have to concentrate completely on what she was doing, but Jack wasn't taking any chances. He didn't want the scissors to slip and make a new cut – or even worse, cut something off he might want to use again some day – even though she wasn't really all that close to that particular area. You just _never_ knew, right?

"There you go, Colonel," Fraiser said when she finished. "All done."

Jack hopped off the table and started getting dressed.

"Thanks, Doc."

Janet shrugged.

"Well, we had to get you well for your interview with the reporter."

Jack scowled, his good mood draining out of him like water bursting out of a dam.

"You _had_ to remind me..."

"I heard the President himself ordered this."

"Yeah, I heard that, too." They'd known they were coming – a cameraman and a reporter guy to do interviews – but even though he'd had a month to get used to the idea, Jack still wasn't looking forward to it. "Have they talked to you, yet?"

Janet shook her head, looking at her watch.

"Of course, they've only been on base for all of _fifteen minutes_." They were scheduled to arrive at 9:00, and Jack had shown up at 8:30 to have his stitches removed. It was 9:30, now. "They're probably talking to Hammond, and getting instructions on where they're allowed to go and where they're not supposed to go."

"I thought they were going to be given a babysitter?"

Janet nodded. Someone had suggested that O'Neill himself be the person to take the interviewer and his cameraman around the base for the week they were scheduled to be there. A suggestion that had been met with stony silence from Jack, and a snort of disbelief from Hammond.

"Major Quinn has been given that happy task."

"Better him than me."

"I agree."

Jack looked down at Jaffer, who'd been waiting patiently while Janet took care of his Jack. The black lab wagged his tail, idly, waiting to see if they were ready to leave. They had places to go and things to smell, after all!

"I'm sure I'll meet them eventually," Jack said with all the enthusiasm of someone who was waiting to meet the dentist.

"I'm sure you will..." Janet would be listening for the explosion.

"So... are you done with me?"

"Yes." Janet started cleaning up her equipment while Jack put his shirt on and buttoned it up. "Get your big troublemaker out of my infirmary before he eats something I need."

O'Neill grinned. Jaffer hadn't eaten anything of Janet's for a long time. Months!

"I think she doesn't want you in here, little man," Jack said to Jaffer, who wagged his tail again and snorted, his brown eyes watching Jack and Janet both cheerfully. "Let's see if we can get to my office without meeting one of the camera guys, or anyone else we don't want to meet, shall we?"

Fraiser smiled.

"Good luck."

"Hey, I've been a million different worlds, evading Jaffa and all sorts of other aliens who want to kill me. You think I can't make it from here to my office without evading one simple interviewer?"

Janet shrugged.

"I _can_."

"Uh huh."

"I can. You'll see." Still grumbling, he headed for the door with Jaffer right beside him.

"Good luck," Janet repeated, although this time she knew he didn't hear her.


	2. 02

"Colonel O'Neill!"

"_Damn_..."

Jack hadn't even made it as far as the elevators when he heard Major Quinn's voice coming from down the corridor. He looked down at Jaffer, who looked cheerfully up at him, then back over his shoulder. Sure enough, it was Major Quinn. He was walking quickly towards Jack, and in his wake were two men; one holding a large camera and a bulky bag – presumably with equipment in it – and the other carrying a small notebook. Jack sighed, and turned, allowing the three of them a chance to catch up.

"Major Quinn..."

The Major smiled, nervously, as the three stopped nearby.

"Sir. May I introduce Emmett Bregman, and his cameraman Ben Crane?"

The interviewer stepped forward, all smiles.

"Colonel O'Neill, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm really looking forward to having a chance to speak more with you about..."

He trailed off, noticing that Jack's attention wasn't on him. The Colonel – and the large dog that had been standing beside him – were both looking down the hall where a lovely woman with short, blonde hair was walking along a cross corridor, apparently unaware of his scrutiny, and that of the men with him.

The cameraman gave a low wolf-whistle, which drew Jack's attention to him. With a look that was almost a leer, the younger man grinned conspiringly at the other men in the hall.

"Who's _that_, and please tell me we get to interview her..."

Major Quinn paled, and looked over at Jack, whose eyes had just gone from warm and fuzzy as he watched Sam walk past to cold and hard as he turned his attention to the cameraman.

"Um..." Quinn answered, still looking at O'Neill. "That was... Major Samantha... _O'Neill_..."

Both Emmett Bregman and the cameraman looked over at O'Neill, suddenly aware of just how quiet and icy the hallway had become. A low growl issued from deep in Jaffer's chest as he picked up on Jack's emotions, and the two men paled.

"That was my _wife_..." Jack said, softly, and dangerously. "I'm sure you _will_ get to interview her, and if you so much as put a toe out of line or look at her funny the rest of the time you're here, I'll make you wish you _hadn't_."

He didn't say what he'd do to make them wish they hadn't, but he didn't _need_ to. Jaffer was watching both of them suspiciously, his head low, his lips pulled back just enough to show off his formidable fangs, his eyes burning with instant distrust, and Jack's own demeanor quite plainly told them they didn't want to know.

The cameraman licked lips suddenly gone dry, and looked down at the dog. A moment before he'd been thinking that it was a good-looking animal that would probably take a great picture. Now all he was thinking was that the gleaming white teeth looked pretty sharp, and he didn't want anything to do with it.

"I-I didn't mean any... She's um..." deciding that telling him what his wife was was probably a mistake, he trailed off. "Sorry, sir..."

Jack turned on his heels and left without another word. Jaffer walked off with him, but would occasionally throw another look over his shoulder, as if making sure none of them were following. Which was the furthest thing from any of their minds. Only when the Colonel turned the corner, walking in the same general direction as the blonde had, did they speak again.

Emmett hit his cameraman with the notebook in his hand, slapping him in the back of his head.

"Way to go, genius! I really wanted that interview."

"I'm sorry! She was hot, how was I supposed to know?"

Major Quinn cleared his throat, and both men looked at him.

"You really got off lucky," Quinn said. "Colonel O'Neill isn't somebody you want to mess with. Especially when Jaffer's right beside him like that."

"Who's Jaffer?" The cameraman asked. Emmett had already figured that one out.

"The dog, dipshit."

Major Quinn nodded.

"Probably, you'll want to steer clear of any mention of Major O'Neill in the future. If word gets back to him – and it will – he'll come after you."

"He'd do that?" Emmett asked, skeptically. He'd just assumed O'Neill's threat was posturing. The _I'm king stag around here and don't you forget it_ type thing.

"In a heartbeat." Was the simple response, and it was sincere enough that both men took the warning to heart.

"We'll... um... interview Colonel O'Neill later," Emmett decided, giving his cameraman another dirty look. "After he's had a chance to forget about your stupidity."

"I _said_ I was sorry..."

Bregman looked at Major Quinn.

"So? Where shall we go first?"

"We could go see if Doctor Jackson is in his office. He'd be an interesting interview for you."

"Sounds fine."

The three men headed back down the hall; in the opposite direction that O'Neill had gone.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Daniel wasn't in his office. He was in Sam's lab, waiting for her when she showed up.

"Hey, Sam."

She smiled when she saw him, not at all startled to see him there. It wasn't uncommon for them to hang out in each other's spaces, after all.

"Good morning, Daniel, how was your weekend?"

"It was fine. How about you? Anything exciting?"

Sam shook her head.

"We spent a lazy weekend doing nothing."

"Those are the best kind."

She nodded her agreement and set her laptop on her table.

"Is there something you needed?" She asked. "Or are you just hanging out with me this morning to keep me company?"

Daniel shrugged.

"I'm kind of hiding."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'm not really ready to do the whole interview thing, and I have a feeling they're going to be coming to see-"

He was interrupted by the arrival of Jack and Jaffer. Jack had a thunderous scowl on his face, which disappeared immediately when Sam turned to look at him. If not for the fact that Daniel had seen it, he'd never have believed it. Obviously, Jack was annoyed about something, and had no intention of sharing that annoyance with his wife – or with Daniel.

"Hey."

"Hi, Jack," Daniel said, giving Jaffer a pat when the black lab came over to say good morning as well.

"What are you two up to?"

"I don't know about Sam, but I'm hiding from the cameras. What about you? Did you get your stitches out?"

"Yup. Wanna see?"

"Um. No. I'll take your word for it." Seen one scar, you've seen them all.

"Sam?"

She shook her head.

"I'll pass."

"Spoilsport." He shrugged. "Let's go get some breakfast and hide together, shall we?"

"It's not hiding if you're in plain sight, Jack." Daniel said.

"I'm hungry. You don't want me to start my long day without a good breakfast, do you? I might get... grumpy..."

Oh, yeah... like _breakfast_ was going to do any good to keep the grumpiness at bay. Daniel knew better. So did Sam. They both shrugged, though.

"Fine. Let's go eat..."

There was always safety in numbers, right? Like those deer that crossed rivers in big amounts so the crocodiles didn't kill them all? Daniel decided it wasn't quite the same, but it was close enough.


	3. 03

The commissary was fairly well deserted – as it usually was by this time of the morning. Those who didn't eat at home – and there were a fair number of them – usually had already eaten and headed off for their duties by then. Only those with irregular schedules – which was mainly the SG teams who could count on being sent off-world at any time and as such were never placed on permanent duties elsewhere - had the luxury of eating whenever they wanted, as long as they had the time.

Jack headed for the food, with Jaffer right beside him, leaving Daniel and Sam to find a table of their choice. He never cared where they sat. After loading a tray with enough breakfast for him, Sam, Daniel and one always-hungry lab, he returned and sat down next to Daniel and across from Sam. This might confuse some people, who'd wonder why he wouldn't sit beside his wife, but Jack liked to be able to look into her eyes whenever he wanted, and he could only do that when he was sitting across from her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her, holding up some toast. She had been experiencing a little morning sickness the last couple of days – which was why they hadn't had breakfast before coming in to the base – and Jack was treating her delicately because of it.

"Not really."

He handed the toast down to Jaffer, who was more than willing to eat it. No morning sickness there!

"Are you feeling all right, Sam?" Daniel asked, picking up on the lack of appetite. "Is the baby taking her toll already?"

Sam smiled. Daniel was referring to the baby as a 'her' already, and Jack was more than willing to agree. Although it was way too early to have an ultrasound and actually see what it was – she wasn't even a month along, after all – both men had decided she was carrying a girl, while Sam secretly hoped it was a boy.

"_He's_ fine, Daniel," she told him. "I'm just a little ill this morning."

"You should have called in."

"I can't. General Hammond really wants me here this week." She said, shaking her head. "Besides, it's nothing serious. I'm not dying or anything, I'm just a little queasy."

Daniel knew exactly why Hammond wanted Sam on base that week – it was so she could run interference if something came up between the camera crew and Jack. Sam was the best one to call on if Jack decided that he was going to be difficult when it came to his interview, and everyone knew it.

A commotion at the door drew Daniel's attention before he could say something else, and he groaned.

"There they are."

Sam and Jack both followed his gaze, and saw the camera crew along with Major Quinn walking into the commissary.

OOOOOOO

"_There_ he is," Quinn said, gesturing towards the table on the far end of the room. "Sitting with Colonel and Major O'Neill."

Emmett saw Jack O'Neill turn towards him for just a moment, and then look back down to his tray of food, but the black lab that was lounging so indolently at the Colonel's side didn't turn away. He watched suspiciously as they looked that direction, and his beautiful head dropped just a little in silent warning.

"Well... he's eating..." the cameraman said, wanting absolutely nothing more to do with Colonel O'Neill that day – or the big dog. "Why don't we try him later, when we're not disturbing him?"

Emmett nodded his agreement, and the Major led the two of them over to the service table so they could pick out something to eat. Both men had had breakfast, but their day had started early, and that had been a while ago, and they were both ready for a snack. Once they had their food, they chose a table as far away from the members of SG-1 as they could find, much to Major Quinn's amusement – although he hid it well.

"That's odd," Daniel said, softly, looking down at his breakfast, which he'd been considering abandoning if the camera crew approached him. He wasn't ready for an interview yet. He was hoping they'd interview a few other people, so Daniel could find out what kind of questions they asked, and be a little more prepared. "They seem to be nervous..."

Jack looked over at the three men as they sat down, but none of them were looking his way.

"Yup. _Odd_."

He turned back to his breakfast, which he was sharing with Jaffer, and was just handing down a plate with some sausage and scrambled eggs on it when Janet Fraiser walked through the door and headed for the coffee pot.

Sam started to call her friend over, but Major Quinn, on the behest of Emmett Bregman – who was pretty desperate to find someone to interview by now – got up from the table he was sitting at and walked over to her first.

"Doctor Fraiser?"

She smiled as she turned, although it was forced. She knew what poor Major Quinn was stuck doing, and she felt sorry for him, but she wasn't looking forward to being interviewed any more than anyone else was.

"Yes, Major?"

"I was wondering if you have a few minutes to sit down and talk with my... charges?" He asked her. "If you're busy, I understand."

He was giving her an out, and Janet appreciated it. She could tell him she was busy, and he'd go back to the table and tell them that she was busy, and no feelings would be hurt. Janet smiled. She wasn't busy at that moment, and she appreciated the out so much that she didn't even use it, much to Quinn's surprise.

"I can probably find a few minutes to talk to them, Major," she said. "Nothing too formal – I don't have time for that – but a quick chat wouldn't kill me."

"Thank you, Doctor Fraiser."

He led her over to the table, and Ben Crane and Emmett Bregman both stood at her approach.

"Emmett Bregman? May I introduce Doctor Janet Fraiser? She's the chief medical officer here at the SGC, and responsible for the health and well being of those around – including yourselves while you're on base. Doctor Fraiser, this is Emmett Bregman and his cameraman, Ben Crane."

"A pleasure to meet you, Doctor," Emmett said, holding his hand out and taking Fraiser's when she gave it to him. It was exactly what a doctor's hand should feel like, he decided. Delicate and strong at the same time. He was careful not to hold it too firmly, and released it as soon as she moved it.

"Thank you, Mr. Bregman," Janet said, turning and shaking hands with the cameraman, who took her hand with a nervous glance toward the table Jack O'Neill was sitting at, and released it with a mumbled hello.

"Please, call me Emmett."

"Emmett." Janet agreed, taking the empty seat next to Major Quinn's. "Call me Janet." She wondered why the cameraman looked so nervous, but she had to decide already that she could like this Emmett guy. He had a ready smile that actually reached his eyes – which appealed to Fraiser, who loved a good smile more than pretty much anything.

"So, you two are here to do the documentary?" She asked, graciously giving them the opening they needed.

OOOOO

"And so the first deer is snatched by the crocodiles..." Daniel murmured softly, watching as Janet walked over and was introduced to the interviewer and his cameraman.

Sam caught the reference quickly, and smiled, but Jack ignored both of them, watching as the cameraman took Janet's hand and released it quickly. Good. He didn't like the cameraman's idea of a joke – not towards any woman, definitely not towards Sam, and he was already making sure the young man was being polite to Janet. Satisfied, even though he couldn't hear what was being said on the other side of the room, Jack turned his attention back to his breakfast.


	4. 04

Emmett smiled, as much because he was glad that someone besides Major Quinn was talking to him as because Janet Fraiser seemed like a charming woman.

"We're _supposed_ to be doing interviews," he corrected her, wryly. "So far all we've managed to do is anger one of the senior officers." He gave his cameraman another scathing look. Ben sighed.

"Oh? Which one?"

"Colonel O'Neill."

Everyone at the table turned to look across the room at Jack, who wasn't paying any attention to them. Jaffer was, though. Almost as if he was aware of the sudden scrutiny, the black lab looked over at them. He might have given them another mistrustful look, but Jaffer liked Janet Fraiser, so he didn't.

"Colonel O'Neill just had a lot of stitches removed this morning, so chances are you caught him at a bad time." Fraiser said.

"Oh?"

She nodded.

"I don't think he likes us..." Emmett said, shaking his head.

"I don't think his dog likes us, either," Ben added.

"Jaffer's a sweetheart." Janet told them, smiling. Neither one of them looked convinced about that.

"So, O'Neill's bark is probably worse than his bite?" Emmett asked, hopefully. Maybe it wasn't so bad, and he'd actually get his interview with the Colonel that day.

"I didn't say that..." Janet corrected him. "But I doubt he _hates_ you. He usually waits until he gets to know someone before he hates them."

Well, _that_ was reassuring, Emmett thought dryly.

"So... you're in charge of keeping everyone healthy, huh? That must be quite a chore, what with all the traveling they do..."

"It's challenging," Janet agreed. She wasn't sure exactly what the man knew about exactly how much 'traveling' they did around here, so she wasn't ready to comment on it too much. She looked at Major Quinn, who seemed to understand the question.

"Mr. Bregman and Ben have a top level clearance, Doctor. They know about the Stargate, although the mission themselves are classified."

Janet nodded. Emmett beamed. He loved being on a secret base and being in on all the secret stuff that was going on there.

"I'd love to set up a time when we could do an interview with you, Doctor - Janet..." He said.

"I don't actually have time to do anything too formal just now... "Janet told him, looking at her watch. She'd been gone from the infirmary longer than she'd planned on being, already.

"It doesn't have to be this minute," he said, smiling. "I have other people I'm supposed to be talking to, also." He looked over and saw that Jack O'Neill was getting up. The Colonel leaned over and said something to his wife that made her smile, then nodded a good-bye to Daniel Jackson. A moment later - and with one more warning look over at the table he was sitting at - O'Neill was gone - along with the big black lab. Emmett turned his attention back to Janet.

"Maybe this afternoon? If you're free?"

Fraiser shrugged. If the interview was like this, then maybe it wasn't going to be so bad. Emmett seemed like a nice enough fellow.

"I'll find time." She promised him.

"Thanks."

Samantha O'Neill was leaving as well, now, he saw, and Daniel Jackson was alone at his table. Now was probably the time to try and get a time set up with him.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both," Janet said standing up.

All three men once more stood, as well, and Emmett gave her his hand once more, smiling.

"The pleasure was mine. I look forward to our next conversation."

She smiled, and left before he could catch her blushing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

She was _leaving_! Daniel had pretty much assumed that Janet was going to be distracting the interview guys for at least the next half hour or so, and hadn't felt the need to leave when Jack had. He hadn't even been worried when Sam had told him she had things she needed to take care of. Janet was talking to the interview guys, and it'd looked like she was going to be there quite a while. They were even smiling! And now she was leaving... and he was going to be the only deer at the watering hole.

He saw the interviewer guy looking over at him as Janet left, and Daniel groaned inwardly.

"Damn it."

He looked down at his breakfast. Maybe if he looked engrossed in his meal, they'd ignore him. A moment later he was proven wrong.

"Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel sighed, and looked up. It was Major Quinn, and with him were the two interview people. The Major introduced them, and Daniel really had no choice but to ask them to join him. He wasn't busy, and he couldn't even think of something to tell them he was doing that might make him _sound_ busy. If he were more intimidating - like Jack - he could glare at them and hope they'd leave him to his breakfast, but Daniel didn't have that cold look down, and he knew it.

Emmett pulled out his notebook, and the camera started to roll...


	5. 05

_Author's note: Major Quinn was probably the one to suggest Jack escort the camera people around... that's the only reason he'd get such a crappy job, most likely!_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Well, it _could have_ been worse, Daniel decided as the cameraman finished coiling his cables and Emmett double-checked some of his notes. The interview had been done efficiently, and the questions had been well thought out, and designed to elicit complete answers – not monosyllabic ones, like 'yes or 'no'. Emmett had been a class act, his enunciation was precise and if Daniel wasn't certain of the question he was asking – or the question _behind_ the question – the interviewer had been very good about allowing him to ask what he meant. Of course, all that could be edited out of the final version, but it was still helpful to Daniel.

"Thank you, Doctor Jackson," Emmett said, shaking his hand with a smile. "I'll probably have a few more questions – mostly follow-up ones – once I have a chance to look through the tape..."

"No problem," Daniel said, relieved. He meant it, too. It hadn't been so bad. "I'll probably be in my office the rest of the morning, and most of the afternoon. If I'm not there, you can probably find me in Major O'Neill's lab."

Emmett took the opportunity to jump on that little comment.

"My files say she's Major _Carter_..." he said.

"Your files are a month old, then," Daniel responded. "She's married, now, and very much Major O'Neill." The people on the base were finally settling down into the routine of calling Sam 'Major O'Neill' – although it had taken some of them a bit to get used to it. It didn't hurt that Jack scowled at the offender anytime the mistake was made in his presence. That tended to make people try a little harder to get it right the next time.

"Do you think _she'd_ be willing to be interviewed?"

"What? Now?"

Emmett shrugged.

"The more raw footage I have to start off with, the better this thing will be."

It was Daniel's turn to shrug.

"You can ask, I suppose. She's probably in her lab..."

"Would _Colonel_ O'Neill be there, do you think?" Ben asked.

Daniel looked at the young cameraman, wondering what caused him to ask that particular question.

"I don't know. It would depend on what Teal'c was doing. I think he and Jack have some kind of training session with the dogs today. I could be wrong, though. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious..."

_Uh huh_.

Ben Crane was a lousy liar. Daniel wondered why Crane wanted to avoid Jack. Ah well, maybe he'd ask him sometime. For now, Daniel had other things to do besides hang out now that the interview was over. He stood up, stretching muscles that had gotten a bit stiff from sitting in the same position for the last hour and a half.

"Well, like I said, you can ask Sam... she might be busy, but she might not."

"Thanks," Emmett told him, standing as well, and shaking Daniel's hand once more. Despite the frosty beginning to the morning, things were going very well so far, the interviewer decided. "We'll go find her, now."

Daniel left the commissary, and Bregman looked at Major Quinn.

"Do you know where Major O'Neill's lab is?"

Quinn nodded, and led the two out of the cafeteria, and into the corridor.

OOOOOOOOO

"They're coming for _you_ next, Sam."

She smiled at the relieved tone of Daniel's voice. He'd called her to warn her about Bregman heading her way – and also to tell her that it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it could have been.

"Well... I'm not really doing anything important..." She said into the receiver of the phone. "I _suppose_ it wouldn't kill me to get it over with, huh?"

Daniel laughed and hung up, and Sam went back to the device she'd been fixing, figuring if they were coming, she might as well clear the rest of her morning and give them what they wanted.

OOOOOOOOO

"Major O'Neill?"

The knock on her door was soft, and Sam looked over to see Major Quinn standing there. Behind him in the hallway she could see Emmett Bregman looking over Quinn's shoulder.

Sam gave Quinn a smile and waved him in, and Bregman followed. The cameraman hesitated at the door, looking around carefully before stepping gingerly through. Sam wondered momentarily why he was looking so nervous. Almost _scared_. Probably, she decided, he'd heard about some of the explosions that had taken place in her lab. Not _big_ ones – but explosions, nonetheless. It was all she could think of. She smiled reassuringly to him, and the young man paled and looked around once more.

Before Sam could ask what was wrong with him, Quinn started making introductions. Emmett Bregman took her hand carefully, giving her a hesitant – but genuine – smile, and the cameraman just waved cautiously from the other side of the room.

Up close, Bregman decided that Colonel O'Neill was a lucky guy. Major O'Neill was a good looking woman – not exceedingly beautiful, which wasn't attractive to Bregman – but pretty, nonetheless, and she had very intelligent eyes, and a wonderful smile. Of course, he kept his opinion to himself, but he couldn't help but think it. Although she did look a little pale. It could have just been the lighting in the room, though.

"We were wondering if we could have a little of your time, Major O'Neill," Emmett said, still hesitantly, but now for a different reason. Not because he was nervous of Colonel O'Neill suddenly making an appearance with the big black dog, but because she really didn't look like she was up to an interview – although she was smiling, it was fairly apparent she wasn't feeling well. Maybe she was _sick_?

Sam nodded. She found Emmett to be a polite guy, and the way he asked her for her time was far different than what she'd expected. She'd expected a man filled to bursting with his own importance at having been given access to the world's biggest secret and access to those involved. Instead, she was finding a very down to earth kind of guy – and a cameraman who _still_ hadn't come within ten feet of her.

"As it _happens_, I have a little time right now..." She didn't really feel like giving an interview – the morning sickness had suddenly started in on her again – but she was getting used to the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, although she felt slightly light-headed, and that was new. Had Bregman been an ass, she would have kicked him and his cameraman out, but he wasn't, so she didn't. "Where would you like to do it?"

"Here is fine," Emmett told her. He looked around. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to her chair, which was beside a heavy oak desk that was stacked with papers and odd-looking devices.

Sam sat down, and Emmett pulled another chair over to sit next to her. Not touching, since he didn't want himself to be in the picture - and he didn't want to invade her personal space - but close enough that it would make it a cozy chat, and not an interview, _per se_. He handed her a microphone to clip on her shirt – _not_ something he'd do for her – and then pulled out his notebook with his list of questions he'd planned on asking her.

"So... Major Samantha _O'Neill_..." He smiled, to reassure her, because she looked just a little nervous, now that the camera was facing her and the light had come on. Sam responded with a shaky smile of her own. "How long-"

He didn't get the question out. The Major's face suddenly went sheet white, and she tumbled out of her chair, limply.

"Shit!"

Emmett reacted far more quickly than Quinn or Ben. He managed to catch her – feeling something in his wrist pull when he took her full dead weight before she could brain herself on the concrete floor – and lowered her carefully, looking up in shock at the other two.

"Let's get her to the infirmary," Quinn said, reaching down to take one of Sam's hands to pull her up.

"Here..." Emmett wasn't a small man, and Major O'Neill wasn't a large woman. He scooped her up carefully into his arms, and looked at Quinn. _He_ didn't know where the infirmary was. Major Quinn headed out the door quickly, and Ben Crane lowered the camera, his face as white as Sam's.

"_He's going to kill us_..." the cameraman whispered to himself as he set the camera on the floor and followed Emmett out of the room.


	6. 06

There was only one patient in Janet Fraiser's infirmary. A young Marine had managed to tangle himself up in his weapon on a training run and tripped. He'd gone down, broken his ankle and – even more embarrassingly – had jabbed himself in the ribs with the barrel of his own rifle. He was fairly well doped up on pain-killers for the broken ribs, and Janet was keeping a close watch on him to make sure there was no allergic reaction since he'd never had need for any such medications before.

Then a commotion at the door drew her attention –and that of her staff – and she saw Major Quinn hurrying into the infirmary with a concerned look on his face. That was odd enough, but Janet was shocked to see Emmett Bregman rush in right behind the Major, Carrying a very limp and obviously unconscious Sam O'Neill. Janet was at his side in a heartbeat, even before a flushed and pale cameraman came running in behind them, looking as pale as Sam.

"What happened?" She asked, pointing him towards an empty bed on the far end of the small line of beds.

"I don't know," Emmett said, going over and carefully depositing Sam on the bed. "We were just starting the interview and she passed out..."

He stepped back as Janet stepped up, and the doctor turned to one of the medics.

"Page Colonel O'Neill to come here, please."

There was a soft moan of dismay from the cameraman, but everyone ignored him as Janet put a blood pressure cuff on Sam's arm to start a quick examination.

"You weren't doing anything strenuous?" She asked.

Emmett shook his head.

"She was sitting in a chair getting ready to answer questions, and she just turned really pale and fell over..."

"No sign of any discomfort before that?"

He shook his head again. "I thought she looked a little pale when we walked into her lab, but I assumed it was the lighting. She was friendly enough... agreed to do the interview, even... I... is she going to be okay?"

He was rubbing his wrist, Janet noticed as she watched the blood pressure readout.

"Her blood pressure's a little low, but her heart's fine..." Janet had her own suspicions about what had happened, but she wasn't going to discuss them with Emmett. "What's wrong with your hand?"

"I don't know... it hurts..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_"Colonel O'Neill, please report to the infirmary immediately. Colonel O'Neill, please come to the infirmary..."_

O'Neill looked over at Teal'c, who was just in the process of letting Jack loose to attack a heavily padded dog handler. The yellow lab was a fine attack dog, but it never hurt to keep the base dogs in constant form – Jaffer had already done his attack and was lazing at Jack's side now as he waited for another go.

A call to the infirmary could only mean a few things, and at the moment, Jack had only one concern on his mind. Sam. He'd been on pins and needles most of the time – after her first disastrous pregnancy, he couldn't help it – although he tried to hide his fear from her. If he was being called to the infirmary, it meant either Daniel was hurt or Sam was. Daniel was a walking accident, but Sam was the one that came instantly to mind. From the sudden concerned look on his face, it was obvious Teal'c had considered the same thing. Both men bolted toward the large doors that led to the corridors of NORAD – which in turn led to the elevators of the SGC, Jack and Jaffer running smoothly at their sides.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Janet had barely finished a quick examination of Sam by the time Jack and Teal'c arrived in her infirmary. She'd drawn the curtains around the bed for privacy, but once she'd assured herself that there wasn't anything wrong with the Major, she'd left her alone and gone to check Emmett Bregman's hand. She was just sitting him down on an examination table when the sudden arrival of Jaffer heralded the equally sudden arrival of Jack, Teal'c and Jack. Suddenly her quiet infirmary was very full.

The black lab entered first, and stopped at the door to take in his surroundings. Jack was right behind him, though, and was already looking around.

"Where is she, Jaffer?"

He didn't bother to ask Janet – he didn't _have_ to. The black lab knew who he meant, and he made a beeline for the end of the room where the curtains were drawn around a single bed. Janet told Emmett she'd be right back, and she went over to intercept him.

"Don't panic, Colonel," she told him, noticing immediately just how worried he looked. "She's fine."

"The baby?"

"The baby's fine, too. She just fainted."

"_Just_ fainted?" Fainting seemed pretty serious to Jack – of course, it was Sam, and _everything_ was serious to him when it came to her. Especially at that particular moment.

"It's not uncommon," Janet told him, putting her hand on his arm to stop him before he could go through the curtain to see her. Jaffer wasn't at all constrained to stop, and the black lab vanished a moment later, his tail wagging before his butt had even passed through the curtain, and Janet and Jack were both certain it'd only be a second before he was up on the bed beside Sam. "The baby's doing weird things to her, Colonel," Janet went on, still holding him back. "She told me she was having a bout of morning sickness the other day... I'll bet she was this morning, too, wasn't she?"

He nodded.

"And I'll bet she skipped breakfast?"

"Yeah. I couldn't get her to eat..."

"That's all it is. Her blood sugar and blood pressure both fell too much and she fainted. The only danger was that she might hit her head or something when she fell, but Emmett caught her before that could happen, so stop looking so panicked. You'll just upset her."

"Is she awake?"

"Not yet, but she should wake up any minute. I'll keep her here for a while, and try to get something into her. We'll set up some kind of nutrition schedule to keep this from happening again – even if it's just liquids for a while."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course... I just wanted you to know what it was before-"

"Jack?"

Sam's voice came from the other side of the curtain, and Janet released his arm.

"Go make sure she doesn't worry. It's _nothing_ like the last time, and I need you to keep her calm."

Jack disappeared behind the curtain.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jaffer had been the one to bring Sam out of her faint. She'd been close to waking up already; drifting in that odd space that hovered between sleep and wakefulness when she'd felt him jump up on the bed and join her. It was hard to miss him, after all. He flopped down right beside her, close enough that his big warm body was pressed lightly against her, and Sam had reacted instinctively, turning and wrapping her arm around him. Which had woken her. For just a moment she'd panicked. She wasn't sure where she was, and the last time that had happened when she'd been pregnant, it'd been the time she'd lost their baby.

Instantly, she'd feared the worst. And immediately Jaffer had wuffled his nose against her cheek, his tongue licking her almost reassuringly. Sam had felt an odd sort of calm come over her. She couldn't explain it, but she suddenly knew everything was all right. She'd called for Jack, then, knowing that where Jaffer was, he wasn't far behind, and she was right. He was there in an instant, all smiles and reassurances, and Sam knew the moment she saw him that whatever had happened, it wasn't anything serious.


	7. 07

It was fifteen minutes before Jack O'Neill reemerged from the other side of the curtained area. When he did, he was alone. He looked around the infirmary and saw Janet Fraiser standing beside an examination bed, looking at an x-ray and talking to Emmett Bregman. The cameraman and Major Quinn were both standing at her shoulder, and as he drew nearer, Jack saw that Fraiser was applying some kind of tape to Bregman's hand and wrist – forming a brace of sorts. Jack knew this was a brace, because he'd had his fair share. Teal'c and Jack had been waiting just outside the curtain, and when Jack came out, the Jaffa ducked behind the curtain with his yellow lab – just to see for himself that Sam was okay, and to say hello.

Janet looked up as Jack approached them, as did all three men. The cameraman moved a bit to the side, against one wall, which was fine with O'Neill since he wanted to get closer to Janet.

"How is she, Colonel?" Fraiser asked, looking back down at the wrist she was bandaging.

"She's okay. Was just worried for a minute there, she told me. Should I take her home?"

Fraiser shrugged.

"Only if she _wants_ to go. I'll keep her here for a while – to make sure she's steady again – and then she can go back to work if she's feeling up to it." Janet looked up at Emmett. "No more interview, though. Not for today, at least."

"Interview?" Jack repeated, frowning. He looked at the cameraman, who paled, and then at Quinn and finally down at Bregman. "You were _interviewing_ her? This is _your_ fault?"

"It wasn't _his_ fault, Colonel," Janet said before Emmett could say anything. "It was Molly." Unlike Daniel and Jack, Janet Fraiser – who _also_ believed Sam was going to have a girl – had decided on a name for the unborn baby. Of course, that named _changed_ every hour, so it took Jack a few seconds to figure out who exactly Molly was.

Had he been more upset – and he _had_ been when he'd walked in, but he was completely reassured, now, and therefore feeling fine – Jack would have pressed the issue, anyways. He didn't want Sam bothered by the camera crew, and he didn't want them making her sick enough to pass out. Baby or no, he was _sure_ they had some part in it. But, he didn't press it. He didn't feel like pressing it.

"No interview," he told Bregman – like the man hadn't heard Janet, himself. Jack turned to the cameraman, who nodded but didn't say anything. O'Neill might have said something more, but Teal'c walked over and joined them with Jack trotting at his side, and the cameraman pressed himself even further against the wall. Jack O'Neill was an intimidating guy, but this big scowling mountain was downright threatening with his very presence alone.

"She is asking for some of her things from her lab," Teal'c said to Jack, who nodded. Sam had already asked him to bring her the laptop that was sitting on the table in her lab. She figured even if she had to stay in the infirmary for a while, she could at least get some work done.

Janet frowned.

"I'd rather she rested... so take your time coming back with whatever it is she wants. If she falls asleep, I'll let her out sometime after lunch, once I know she's had something to eat and a chance to stay off her feet for a while."

"Can do." Jack agreed. He'd rather Sam rested, too. Of course, as far as Jack was concerned, Sam should be home in bed, where he could keep a constant eye on her for the next eight months.

Janet looked around.

"Where's Jaffer?"

"He's with Sam."

"You're _not_ leaving him with her, Colonel..."

"She wants his company, Doc," Jack said, shrugging. He played a trump card, then. "He can probably put her to sleep, you know? If she cuddles up with him, she'll relax a lot faster than if she's stuck in here all by herself."

Janet scowled, knowing he was telling her that just so she'd let the big lab stay. But she also recognized the truth in what he was saying.

"You'll come get him later?"

"He'll come find me once she's asleep." He looked over at the cameraman once more. "Once he's _sure_ she's not going to be bothered..."

The man swallowed nervously. He had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near that end of the infirmary.

"Colonel..."

Jack turned to Fraiser, who was wondering what it was Jack had against the cameraman. He was usually a little more subtle when doling out threats and dark looks. And it was obvious Ben had just been the recipient of both.

Jack gave her an innocent look.

"What?"

"Jaffer can stay."

"Thanks, Doc."

He gave her a smile, which she responded to with one of her own.

"If something comes up – and I don't see anything coming up – I'll have someone come find you."

"Thanks, Doc."

Jack gave the cameraman another withering look, and headed for the door. Teal'c also looked over at the cameraman, wondering why O'Neill was so irritated at the man – and knowing there _had_ to be a reason or the man would not be looking so guilty.

"Inform me, as well, Doctor Fraiser," Teal'c requested in his deep voice, still looking at Ben. His look wasn't designed to be intimidating – it was actually a quizzical look – but the cameraman didn't know the difference, since with the big Jaffa it was hard to tell on his stoic face.

Janet smiled. Whatever it was, it must have been a _doozy_! She'd have to try and see if Emmett would tell her, since she was certain that Ben Crane wasn't going to.

"I'll let you know, Teal'c." She promised. "Now take Colonel O'Neill somewhere and help him work off some of that concerned energy, will you? Maybe a boxing work-out, or something like that?"

The Jaffa nodded, and gave her a slight bow.

"I will." He promised. He turned and left, with Jack (the dog) right beside him.

Emmett watched him go, and then looked up at Janet, who now had her full attention on his wrist once more.

"That was Teal'c?"

"Yes."

"I was hoping to interview him... do you think he'd be agreeable to that?" Unlike the Military personnel, who pretty much were under orders to let themselves be interviewed, Bregman knew Teal'c wasn't in the chain of command around the SGC and couldn't be ordered to do any such thing. And after actually _seeing_ him, he knew there was no way he'd be able to bully him into it, or even corner him in an office or the commissary like he'd done with Daniel Jackson.

"Maybe." Janet said, testing the tightness of the bandage she was taping on his wrist. "I'd avoid asking him for a while, though. He's going to be busy with Colonel O'Neill for-"

"Oh, I won't ask him yet," Emmett told her, flashing her a smile. "I was just wondering if you thought he might be willing to sit down with us for a while. Sometime in the future."

"You can always ask." She echoed his smile. "He's far more reasonable than he looks."

"Maybe tomorrow." Emmett looked over at his cameraman, who didn't look all that excited at the prospect of interviewing Teal'c – no more than he did thinking about interviewing O'Neill himself – but he nodded.

"Well, you should take it easy a little for the rest of today," Fraiser told Bregman. "Your wrist isn't broken, but it _is_ sprained, and it looks like you might have strained one of the ligaments a bit. It wouldn't hurt to baby it a bit."

He met her gaze, his bandaged hand brushing against hers lightly as he lowered it.

"Thanks, Janet."

Good Lord, he was _flirting_ with her! Janet couldn't help the very faint blush that reddened her cheeks slightly. It'd been a long time since she'd had a good flirt session. She smiled, her eyes locking with his own.

"You're welcome."

She gathered up her equipment. Really, her infirmary wasn't the place to flirt – and an audience made it a little more embarrassing than fun.

"We're going to go to lunch," Emmett said, smiling at the blush, but understanding that she probably wasn't much on flirting and such when she was working. "Would you like to come?"

"I would... but I'm not going to." Janet told him. "I have patients to see to, and one big black troublemaker that would chew up everything in my infirmary if I left him alone long enough to do it."

"Maybe I could stay here, then...?" He asked. "We could talk about when would be the best time to do your interview while Ben and Major Quinn go eat..."

He looked over at the two men, who shrugged. Ben didn't want to stay in the infirmary – he didn't want to be that close to Samantha O'Neill or the big dog that was guarding her – and there was no doubt in his mind Jack O'Neill had left that dog to guard her.

Quinn didn't mind, either. As far as he was concerned, if Emmett could get a time set up for Fraiser's interview, it'd be that much better for him. The sooner all the interviews were over; the sooner he could return to his regular duties.

Janet thought about it, weighing how much she wanted his company just then to how much of a bother she thought it'd be to have him in the infirmary when she had work to do, and then nodded. "I suppose we could do that..."

"Great!"

He shooed his companions out the door, and stayed seated on the exam table, watching while she walked over to the Marine, who was sleeping soundly – knocked out by the painkillers she'd given him earlier.

"How long have you been with the SGC?" He asked, figuring that was as good a way to get started on getting to know her as any. And he was _certain_ he wanted to get to know her.


	8. 08

For the next fifteen minutes or so, Janet learned what Daniel had already found out. Emmett Bregman wasn't as bad as they'd feared. He wasn't a toady Washington slime ball who was up to his neck in his own importance, and he wasn't a jerk wrapped in the mantle of power that the President's orders gave him. He was a very down to earth sort, who was a few years older than she was and was very good at asking questions in a way that made you want to answer them. He had a ready smile – which she'd noticed before – and which Janet wasn't immune to, and she found herself smiling a lot in return as he switched almost without her noticing from questions about her job in the infirmary to a few more _personal_ questions.

"So..." He'd said, running his hand along the pristine white bandage on his wrist and watching as she checked on her sleeping Marine once more. "You're not married?" He could see she wasn't wearing a ring, but not everyone who was married did. So it didn't hurt to make sure.

"No," Janet said, smiling over at him. "I'm not married."

"No kids?"

"A daughter. Cassandra."

"Pretty name."

"I think so," Janet agreed. "Are you married?"

He shook his head.

"Widower."

"I'm sorry."

"I was, too. She was a wonderful woman."

There was an old ache in his eyes, but it cleared up after a moment. Like an injury that you were so used to it only hurt when you actually stopped to think about it.

"Any children?"

"No. I was-"

He was interrupted when a movement at the far end of the room caught his eye, and he saw the big lab – _Jaffer_ he told himself – coming down the aisle, watching him cheerfully as he headed that direction.

He wasn't the only one to notice him. Janet called the dog's name, and Jaffer's tail wagged a bit more when he walked over to her, and even more when she pulled his head into a quick embrace and surprised Emmett and Jaffer both when she kissed the lab's nose. Jaffer's tongue came out and caught her expertly across the face and Janet sputtered, much to Bregman's amusement.

"Go on, you big troublemaker," She told the lab, pointing him out the door with a grin on her face, despite the slobber bath she'd just received. "Go find Jack and tell him you deserve a treat for making my job easier."

As if he understood, the big dog trotted out the door and Janet found a towel and wiped her face.

"He's a very pretty dog."

"That he is. He's also Colonel O'Neill's pride and joy – although he'd never admit to it. That big dog is spoiled beyond belief."

"Is that why you let him into the infirmary?" He wouldn't have expected a dog to be allowed into a medical facility such as this, but Janet had allowed Jaffer _and_ Teal'c's dog, too.

"He's allowed in because he's well behaved," Janet said, although she made sure the Marine was still asleep. She'd never want that to get back to Jack. "And he has a good bedside manner..."

"He's not dangerous?"

Janet smiled.

"He's _lethal_." She told him. "Those teeth are not for show. He's been trained to a treat, but if he's attacking someone, he tends to forget about going for the wrist like the other base dogs and he goes for the throat."

Emmett blanched.

"Don't worry. He's never hurt someone he likes, and unless Jack told him to, he'd never attack someone on-base."

"Colonel O'Neill doesn't like Ben..."

"What did he do?"

"He made an... inappropriate comment about Major O'Neill – before he knew she was Major _O'Neill_..."

Ah, yeah. _That'd_ do it. No wonder Jack was looking daggers at the man.

"Did Colonel O'Neill hear it?"

Emmett nodded, glad he hadn't been the one to say what Ben had said. Something similar had been on the tip of his tongue – although without the leer and the wolf-whistle. "He was standing right there."

"And no doubt he threatened to do something bad the next time?"

"Yes."

Janet took the bandaged hand in hers, testing the tightness once more. He had been rubbing his wrist the entire time he'd been talking to her, which meant it was either still bothering him, or it was a nervous type action. She couldn't imagine why he'd be nervous around her – even when talking about Jack O'Neill – so she had to assume maybe she'd wrapped his wrist too tightly. Which wasn't a mistake she made often.

"Does your wrist hurt?"

He shook his head, his eyes catching hers as he watched her.

"No. Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

Janet blushed, pleased at the invitation.

"I'll think about it..."

"Is that a _no_, disguised as a _maybe_?" He asked, taking hold of her hand, lightly.

"It's a _I have a daughter who I'd like to see tonight as well, so I'll think about it_, disguised as a _maybe_." Fraiser clarified.

"She could come."

"She might not _want_ to."

"If she wanted to, she could. You two could pick the place – someplace _she'd_ like." He offered. Of course, he wasn't from here, so he didn't really know his way around, so it was a necessary offer.

"I'll call her and ask if she's interested. If she's not, then I'll see if she'd feel left out if I went alone."

"That's fair enough."

They both looked down at their hands – he was still holding hers – and they both blushed, feeling like teenagers caught up in some crazy long-forgotten emotional backwash. They both smiled, but Janet pulled her hand gently away. Her infirmary wasn't the place for such things – and she did have a certain decorum to maintain while at work.

"I'll let you know."

"Great."

He cleared his throat, and sighed.

"I should go find Ben and Major Quinn. We have a few interviews lined up for today."

"I'll find you later," Janet promised.

On that happy note, Emmett hopped off his exam table and left her infirmary, whistling lightly under his breath.

Fraiser watched him go, and then went to check on Sam.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_Hey_..."

When they left the infirmary, Jack and Teal'c entered Sam's lab, and found something completely unexpected. On the floor beside his wife's seldom-used desk, was the camera that Jack had seen Ben Crane toting around.

"What is it, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked as Jack bent down and picked it up.

"It's that guy's camera..." Jack said, thoughtfully. It was heavy; too, the guy must be built like a linebacker under that suit he wore in order to be able to tote it around all day. He set it on the desk – it was habit with Jack not to leave expensive stuff on the floor. He _did_ have Jaffer, after all, and while the black lab was well past his chewing stages, he liked to remind Jack every now and then that expensive things usually tasted the best.

"Shall we return it to him?" Teal'c asked as O'Neill started fiddling with buttons. Jack couldn't leave anything alone when it presented itself so willingly to him. A moment later, the cassette case opened and a small tape popped out. Jack grinned and pulled it out.

"Let's see Daniel's interview."

"I do not believe they would-"

"No one will care, Teal'c," Jack said, smoothly, already pocketing the tape. Sam had a player in her office, but Jack never messed with it, since she also usually had something important in it and he didn't like to mess up her work. "We'll take a look and return it before they even know it's gone. Come on, we'll go find Daniel and let him watch with us."

And they could use his tape player.


	9. 09

Daniel wasn't in his office, and he wasn't anywhere else Jack and Teal'c went to look for him. Finally, Jack called up to the guard shack at the main entrance, and found that Daniel had checked out as soon as he'd finished his interview with Bregman and company – a lunch date with Sally, most likely, Jack decided.

"Well, it's just the two of us, then," Jack said, holding up the tape.

Teal'c didn't really care to watch the tape. He wasn't all that interested in the interviews – not even in Daniel's. He wanted to go work out. Jack didn't, though.

"_You_ go work out for both of us, Teal'c," Jack told him, reasonably. "I'll go watch the tape for both of us."

Teal'c shook his head, but he didn't argue. He wasn't going to sit through a two-hour interview – or however long it was. Not even for Jack. Not if he didn't have to. With Jack (the dog) at his side, the Jaffa headed for the gym and his workout, and Jack headed back to his office. He had a player there; he just had to dig it out from under all his unfinished paperwork.

He was almost to his office when Jaffer caught up to him. The black lab had been trotting rather sedately through the corridors, stopping occasionally to greet someone when they saw him – he always had time for attention, after all – but when he saw Jack turn into the corridor ahead of him, Jaffer broke into a run, bounding up to greet him in his usual cheerful manner.

"Hey!" Jack crouched down – ignoring the way his knees complained – and braced himself for the inevitable crash. Jaffer's stop came as it always did; far too late, and the big lab crashed into Jack as his feet slid on the concrete surface of the SGC corridor. O'Neill was staggered, but he was used to this; it happened every time. He wrapped his arms around Jaffer and cushioned the blow, then slapped the black hide with pure, unadulterated affection.

"There's my little man! Did you get Sam to sleep? Huh?"

Jaffer whuffled Jack happily, his tail wagging furiously as he greeted him as though it'd been years since he'd seen him instead of just minutes.

"_You_ want to watch the interview, don't you, Jaffer?" Jack asked, finally standing up again.

Jaffer snorted. _He'd_ watch the interview, sure! As long as he was with Jack, he didn't care what they did. The two of them headed for O'Neill's office, and Jack closed the door behind them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In a way, Jack was glad he was watching this by himself. He sat at his desk in his darkened office and watched the rough footage of Daniel's interview twice. Really, he wasn't interested in Daniel's answers so much as he was interested in Emmett Bregman and what kind of questions he was asking. After all, Jack was going to be getting interviewed as well – no matter how much he intimidated the cameraman. It was simply a matter of time.

As Jaffer dozed on the couch – more than willing to enjoy a slothful afternoon instead of training that day – Jack watched as Bregman put question after question to Daniel. None of them were too personal – really, though, they shouldn't have been, since the general public wasn't going to want to know about Daniel's love life, after all – and they all seemed to be fairly well thought out. He wasn't a pushy interviewer, which was a point in his favor as far as Jack was concerned, and he wasn't even shown on tape – which told Jack that he wasn't an attention hound.

The second time through, Jack watched the interview all the way to the end, and then instead of stopping it, he let the tape run while he debated whether or not he wanted to be a pain in the ass with the interviewer or if he'd just do the interview as quickly as possible and get it out of the way. He didn't like the fact that they'd already gone after Sam – but he supposed that was to be expected. He was fairly protective of her, anyways, and he was well aware that that feeling had quadrupled or more once she'd become pregnant.

Jack smiled at the thought of the baby – like he always did, and was running through a list of girl names – Molly was the most recent one Janet had thrown out at him, and he thought it was rather pretty – when he suddenly heard Sam's voice on the monitor. He was jerked back to reality by this and looked over at the TV just in time to see her pinning a small microphone to her shirt. This must have been the interview she'd been doing when she'd passed out.

Interested, he watched, scowling when he saw how pale she looked, and wondering why Bregman hadn't noticed himself.

"Stupid bastard..." he muttered, waking Jaffer, who raised his head and looked over to see who Jack was mad at. Not seeing any threat, the lab put his head back down – although he watched to make sure no one came through the door unannounced. After all, Jack was _his_ _baby_, and it was his job to keep him safe.

Jack frowned again when he saw Sam give a nervous smile to the camera, and then Bregman had said her name – said it in a way Jack wasn't sure he liked. He was just trying to figure out what it was he didn't like about it when Sam's eyes rolled back and she fainted on the screen. Jack flinched – he couldn't help it – and he heard Bregman swear, and then watched as the interviewer lunged forward and managed to catch his wife before she hit her head on the concrete floor. O'Neill frowned, and rewound the tape, watching it again. And then again.

"Son of a bitch..."

He'd _caught_ her – and probably had prevented her from taking a nasty hit to the head. Jack scowled, remembering that Fraiser had mentioned something about Bregman catching her before she could hit her head – or something. Jack hadn't really been paying attention at the time. Maybe the guy wasn't such a bastard, after all... _Bah_.

He'd have to think of some way to thank him – without actually _thanking_ him, of course. Maybe he'd actually be cooperative on the whole interview thing.

"Or maybe I'll just send him flowers..." That would be easier. Damn.


	10. 10

"Hey... someone's been messing with my camera..."

Major Quinn looked over as Ben Crane ran his hands along his camera – which wasn't where he'd left it. As the cameraman recalled, he'd left it on the floor, and now it was on the desk. He hadn't wanted to really stop any longer in Major O'Neill's lab than he had to, since he didn't know if it was a place _Colonel_ O'Neill hung out when she wasn't there, but after he and Quinn had eaten their lunch, he'd been pretty much desperate enough to go get it.

"Maybe they just wanted to be helpful, and picked it up off the floor..." Quinn said. "Might have been a janitor."

"The tape's missing!" Ben frowned, looking around, and wondering who'd steal a tape. "Damn it..."

"Are you sure it was there?" Quinn asked.

"Of course I'm sure." The younger man scowled at the Air Force officer. "I don't leave my shit just lying around you know?"

"You left the camera..."

"Well, yeah... but that was different." He ran his fingers through his short blonde hair. "I _really_ need to find that tape, Major. We need to get security or someone looking for it."

A low growl interrupted any response Quinn might have come up with, and both men looked over at the door. Standing there were Teal'c and Jack. The yellow lab's head was low and he was watching them suspiciously. He didn't know these two and he was fairly certain neither belonged in the lab they were in, and they certainly weren't supposed to be snooping! _He_ knew who belonged and who didn't, after all.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing?" Teal'c asked politely, although he had a fair idea now that he'd looked in the room. He'd heard voices as he'd passed the lab, and had gone to investigate, but now that he saw the cameraman looking at his camera, and obviously searching for something else – a _tape_, perhaps – he knew why they were there.

The cameraman froze, looking first up at Teal'c, and then down at the yellow lab beside the Jaffa. This dog wasn't as large as the black one, but it looked ready to tear him up at any moment. Of course, he might have been a little overly sensitive to it...

"Uh..."

"We came to get Ben's camera, Teal'c," Major Quinn supplied, before the cameraman could get anything else out. "He left it here when Major O'Neill passed out."

"I see." Teal'c looked down at Jack, and rested his hand on his lab's head. "Jack. Down."

It was a command that told the lab that everything was all right, and Jack's head came up and he lost the suspicious look in his brown eyes.

"His name's _Jack_?" Ben asked, so surprised that the dog had such a common name that he'd asked the question without thinking. After all, the Jaffa was an alien. He hardly expected its dog to have such a normal name.

"Is there a problem with that name?" Teal'c asked, just a little dangerously. Of course, Teal'c's voice was so deep and his manner so threatening without him intending it to be that he could have been asking directions to the park and it would have come out sounding dangerous as well.

"No..." The cameraman paled – _again_ – and shook his head. "It's a great name."

"He is named after Colonel O'Neill."

"Ah."

That figures.

"Um, Teal'c?" Quinn interrupted. "I don't suppose you've seen anyone in here messing with this camera?"

"You should find Colonel O'Neill. He is the one to ask."

Since Ben would rather go find Satan himself than actively seek out _either_ O'Neill, but especially the Colonel, he simply nodded.

"Um... thanks... we'd better go find Emmett..."

He picked up his camera and inched out of the door, around Jack and the Jaffa. Without waiting for Quinn, he headed down the hall. He could wait at the elevator, or someplace equally safe.

"Is he always in such a nervous state?" Teal'c asked Major Quinn.

The Major grinned.

"He's afraid of Colonel O'Neill."

"O'Neill has the tape he is looking for."

"Then we'll wait for him to bring it back," Quinn said, smiling. "I'm sure he's not going to want to go looking for it. Maybe Bregman can get it back from him."

"Perhaps."

"I'd better get going, before he gets himself into trouble."

"Indeed."

Teal'c watched as Quinn walked down the hall to join Crane, and then took another look around the lab, just to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. Finding it to be satisfactory, he left, and went to get that workout.

OOOOOOOOO

"This place gives me the creeps," Ben complained as Quinn joined him at the elevator. They were going to head to the infirmary and see if Bregman was still there – although Ben had no intention of going in. He'd let Quinn look.

"Why's that?" The Major was almost enjoying the cameraman's discomfort – the guy had come into the base puffed up about being allowed to be there, and had been almost immediately put on the defensive – which was all to the better as far as Quinn was concerned.

"Everyone hates me."

"No they don't."

"O'Neill does..."

Quinn shrugged.

"Maybe."

"Oh, there's no '_maybe'_ to-"

They were interrupted when the elevator door opened, and Emmett walked out. The interviewer had a smile on his face and an odd look in his eyes, which Ben noticed immediately.

"What's with you?" He asked.

"I love this place."


	11. 11

Sam napped in the infirmary for about an hour. She was woken up by a lot of loud chatter from the other side of the room. The young Marine who'd injured himself with his own rifle had company, and the men and women who were visiting him were trying to be quiet, but were still loud enough to wake her up. They were teasing him about his injuries, and the good-natured laughter made Sam smile, even as she opened her eyes and looked around.

The curtain was drawn around her bed, but it was close enough that she could reach out and open them once she'd sat up, and she did. The motion drew Janet's attention as well as the Marines' and a couple of them waved cheerfully over at her – and the volume of conversation died a little, although the cheerfulness didn't.

"Hey," Janet said, walking over and smiling down at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

She did feel fine, too.

"Hungry?"

"Starved." It felt weird to be so hungry after feeling so nauseated earlier, but there it was. Sam was hungry.

"Feel like walking to the commissary?" Since Sam was still dressed – it hadn't been necessary to check her officially into the infirmary and Janet hadn't bothered putting her in a gown for just a short nap – it'd be no hassle for her to get up and walk. If she was feeling up to it.

Sam nodded.

"Sounds good."

Janet handed her her shoes, and walked over to the Marines.

"No rough-housing while I'm gone," She told them. Of course, her medical staff would keep that from happening, but sometimes they got a little over-enthusiastic, so it never hurt to remind them.

"No, Ma'am."

Sam walked over, feeling and looking refreshed. A far cry from how she looked when she'd been carried in.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

Janet pulled one of her staff aside and asked her to find Colonel O'Neill to let him know Sam was awake and where they were going, and then the two women left the infirmary and headed down the corridor, talking about various ways they could stave off Sam's morning sickness – including certain medications.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

When they had gathered enough food for a small army and had seated themselves off in a corner of the mostly deserted room, Janet brought up another subject entirely.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked her friend, watching as Sam started eating a cheeseburger.

"Nothing, as far as I know," Sam said, shrugging. "Why do you ask?"

"Would you mind watching Cassie for a while?"

"Tonight?"

Janet nodded.

"Sure. When?"

"I'm not sure..."

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are you doing tonight that Cassie can't?"

"She _could_. She just doesn't want to..."

"Doesn't want to what?"

Janet blushed, slightly, but she was smiling when she answered.

"I have a date..."

"Oh?" It was Sam's turn to smile. "With _whom_?"

"Emmett."

"_Bregman_?"

Janet nodded.

"He asked me a little while ago, while you were asleep. He invited Cassie, too, but when I called, she didn't seem too interested – although she said she didn't mind if I went."

Sam got a sly look in her eyes.

"Are we keeping her all night?"

Janet blushed a brilliant shade of red.

"It's just a first date, Sam!"

"I know..."

She was thoroughly enjoying this. Janet had had plenty of entertainment at Sam's expense when it came to her and Jack and payback was certainly fun in this case.

"Actually, though, all kidding aside, if you want us to keep her all night, it's not a problem. We could drop her off at school tomorrow on our way in."

"I don't think I'll be out that late," Janet said, still blushing. "We're just going to have dinner."

"So you like this guy, huh?"

"He seems nice." She said. "Doesn't he?"

Sam smiled.

"Yeah, he does. If-"

She was interrupted by a cold nose suddenly stuck into her side, and Sam turned to see Jaffer standing there where a moment before he hadn't been. It wasn't anything new; the black lab was incredibly quiet when he wanted to be, and he loved sneaking up on Sam and Daniel. It never worked with Jack – who always seemed to know where he was – but everyone else was fair game, if Jaffer liked them.

"Hey, little man..." She rubbed his shoulder, and looked around for Jack, knowing that where Jaffer was, he wasn't far behind. Sure enough, he was just walking through the door.

Sam waved him over, gesturing to her tray to tell him that she had plenty of food for all three of them, and he nodded and made a beeline for them instead of stopping to get something to eat.

Leaning over on the pretense of taking a bite of her soup, he brushed a gentle kiss against her cheek.

"How do you feel?"

"Much better."

"Good." He snagged a couple of cookies from her tray and smiled at Janet as he sat down next to her – across from Sam so he could watch her. "Hey, Doc. How is she?"

"She's fine, Colonel," Janet told him. "I'll work on the morning sickness, and you make sure she gets plenty of rest, and between us, she shouldn't faint again."

"Good."

"We don't have any plans tonight, do we?" Sam asked, taking the attention off herself.

"Not that I know of. Do we?"

"We do now."

"Yeah?"

Sam nodded.

"Cassie's coming over for a while – maybe to spend the night."

Janet blushed again.

"Not for the night, Colonel. Just a couple of hours."

Sitting right beside her, there was absolutely no way Jack could have missed the blush. Right away he knew something was up.

"Got a hot date, doc?" He asked. He'd only been kidding, but when she blushed even redder, and Sam grinned, Jack realized that he'd nailed it right on the head. He smiled at Fraiser's discomfort. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Emmett Bregman," Sam answered, still scratching Jaffer's shoulder.

"_Bregman_?" Jack scowled. Then remembered that he was supposed to be grateful to the bastard, and scowled again.

"Yes." Janet was desperately trying to gather in her dignity, but it was hard to be dignified when you were blushing like a schoolgirl. "We have a date tonight. Just _dinner_."

"Uh huh."

"It is."

"Uh huh. So we're keeping Cassie _overnight_?" Jack's eyes were gleaming cheerfully. God, he loved teasing her, and he'd never get a chance like this again, he was sure!

Janet knew when she was beaten. It was bad enough when it'd been just Sam, but add Jack O'Neill into the mix, and there was no way she could win. Next thing you knew, Jaffer would probably join in.

"I'll find out when he wants to go, and I'll bring Cassie over..."

"Want _me_ to go ask him?" Jack asked.

"Not a chance."

"Awww, c'mon Doc..."

"Colonel..."

"Okay... Just checking..." Jack took a bite of the cookie he'd stolen from Sam, his brown eyes still exceedingly cheerful. He knew how far to push his luck, though, so he stopped while he was ahead. After all, Janet had a lot of needles at her disposal, and she'd find a way to use them on him if she really tried.


	12. 12

Emmett was at Janet's house at exactly 7:00PM that evening. She'd given him the address and directions and had told him she needed a little time to take Cassandra over to the O'Neill's – even though Jack had offered to drop by and pick the girl up – so they'd decided on a slightly late dinner. Even if they ate slowly, he told her – smiling since he was actually surprised that she'd said yes to his dinner proposal – they'd still be done in plenty of time for her to pick Cassandra up before bedtime. It was a school night, after all.

He gave his jacket another nervous tug and rang the doorbell. Janet answered almost immediately, looking only slightly nervous, herself – although she was far more nervous than she looked, she was just good at hiding it. It'd been a long time since she'd been on any kind of formal date, after all.

Bregman smiled and handed her a single long-stemmed pink rose.

"You look beautiful."

She blushed, and hid it by lowering her face to the flower, smelling its delicate aroma.

"Thank you. You look good, too."

She _did_ look beautiful. She was wearing a cream colored matching skirt and blouse outfit made of some kind of fabric that clung perfectly to all the right spots, and Bregman actually had to stop himself from reaching out and touching the fabric to see if it were silk. Whatever it was, it was a nice affect, and he had to pull his gaze from the outfit to her face before she realized he was staring.

Janet smiled, pleased, and gestured for him to come in.

"I need to put the dog out really quick, then we can go." She explained as he walked past her and into the house. Oh, he smelled good! She didn't tell him that, of course, but really there was nothing better than a man that showed up with a flower and smelled good himself, was there?

Cassie's dog was a smallish animal with a lot of fur and a happy bark. He ambled over to sniff Emmett, who leaned down and scratched his ears.

"Nice dog."

"Colonel O'Neill got him for Cassie a long time ago."

"I'm surprised he didn't get her a lab," Bregman said. "They seem to be the prevalent breed at the SGC"

"They're not," Janet said with a smile as she shooed the dog out the back door and into the fenced yard where he'd be fine the rest of the evening. "Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill are the only two with labs. The rest of the base dogs are all German Shepherds, I believe." She closed the door and made sure it was locked, then turned around and saw he'd come over to stand close by her, watching as the small dog ran around the back yard, happily. Feeling her heart skip a beat at his nearness – God, had it really been so long? Or was it just chemistry? – she met his eyes. "I'm just as glad he got her a little dog. I've seen the damage a big dog like Jaffer can do"

He smiled, and as if aware that he made her nervous, he took a half step backwards to give her a little space. Although he didn't really want to. Of course, he'd only known her a day, so he really couldn't do what he wanted to do, and that was pull her into his arms and steal a kiss. She'd probably kill him, and worse, if _O'Neill_ found out, he'd _definitely_ kill him. Emmett wasn't as afraid of O'Neill as Ben was, but he respected the fact that the man would undoubtedly do pretty much anything to protect his friends – and family – and Emmett had seen the easy manner Janet and the Colonel had together. There was no doubt they were friends. So he'd behave.

Besides, he _liked_ Janet Fraiser, and he didn't want to do anything to screw up what could be a very good thing between the two of them.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

She nodded.

He offered her his arm – _that_ was innocent enough, right? – and was delighted when she took it as naturally as if they'd been doing this sort of thing a million times. As he walked her out to his rented car, he asked her if she'd decided on where they'd go to eat, and Janet gave him directions to a very classy but relaxed restaurant that specialized in Italian food and dancing. She didn't know if _he_ could dance or not, but she liked dancing, and could just hope that he did, too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So who is this guy mom's going out with?"

Jack looked over at Cassie, who was helping him make dinner. He'd sent Sam off to relax and refresh while he made dinner – and had sent Jaffer off with her to keep her occupied so she wouldn't sneak in and try to help cook.

"He's a guy the Pentagon sent to do a documentary on the SGC."

"I _know_ that, Jack," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes. "Mom told me that much. What's he _like_, though?"

Cassie hadn't seen her mother so excited and nervous about a date ever. Of course, Janet didn't date much, and Cassie thought it was probably because of her. She liked that when she was younger and needed the reassurance that she was the most important thing in the world to Janet, but now that she was older, she was ready to share. She just wanted to know the guy that she was sharing her mother with. She knew that Jack was observant when it came to the people around him, and knew that he'd be the one to ask. Besides, she also knew that Jack wouldn't hold back on his opinion. Jack never lied to Cassie.

O'Neill shrugged, and handed her the makings for a salad while he seasoned the burgers.

"I don't know much about him, kiddo. He seems like a nice enough guy, though."

"Not a goober?"

Jack smiled.

"Nah." He looked over to see where Sam was, and saw that she'd just disappeared out the back door with Jaffer. "I thought he was at first, but he did me a favorâ€ without actually _trying_ to do me a favorâ€ so I might have been wrong about him."

"What does he look like?"

"He's just a guy"

"Is he cute?"

"You'd have to ask your mom that. Or Sam. I'm probably not the best judge of that."

"Is he scrawny?"

"Nah."

"Fat?"

"Nah."

"Bald?"

"Nah."

"Jack!"

He grinned.

"Cassie!"

"I need more information."

"I don't _have_ any more information, kiddo. You'll have to ask your mom."

"She won't tell me"

"She might." He bumped her lightly with his hip, knocking her slightly to the side, and she bumped him back. "She'll tell you long before she tells me, so when you find out, you let me know, okay?"

"Okay."


	13. 13

A light knock on the door drew the attention of Jack and Cassandra both. The two of them had been at the dining room table, playing a game of chess and they might have missed the soft noise completely but Jaffer's head came up from where he'd been dozing on the couch and doubling as pillow for Sam, who'd been watching a documentary on the Space Shuttles. The black lab normally would have bolted for the door, but when he was with Sam he was usually a bit more careful than he was when he was with Jack. Where Jack would have suddenly found his pillow squirming out from under him and gone in an instant to investigate the door, Sam was given the option of moving so he could get up, or resting her hand on his shoulder to ask him to stay put. Since she'd been dozing as much as he had, Sam didn't notice his sudden tenseness, so she didn't move, and neither did Jaffer. Even when Jack got up and went to the door.

Janet was there, as he'd expected, and he smiled and ushered her inside without commenting on the fact that it was well after midnight. She knew, of course.

"How was the date?"

Sam woke up when she heard Jack's voice, and sat up a little, rubbing her eyes sleepily. This gave Jaffer the chance to move without disturbing her, and he did, coming over to greet Janet cheerfully, and waiting impatiently for her to notice him and pet him.

"It was fun."

"Oh?"

Cassie came over, shouldering her backpack.

"Just fun?" She asked, saving Jack the trouble of doing it.

Janet blushed slightly, and hid it by bending down and scratching Jaffer's sides.

"It was fun."

Fun was an understatement, but Janet wasn't ready to tell everyone about her date. As it turned out, Emmett _did_ know how to dance, and once they'd eaten, the two of them had spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms, dancing. When they'd grown tired, or just needed a break from the dance floor for a while, they'd went to the restaurant's bar and over a couple of weak drinks they'd shared their life stories – she telling him an edited for public version of how she'd adopted Cassie, while he in turn told her about his now-dead wife and of the life they'd had together.

It'd had been one of the most enjoyable evenings Janet had had in a very long time, and the night had past far more quickly than she could have imagined, and it was with true regret that she told him she'd better get home. It was, after a school night, and she still had to go get Cassie – although she'd been very tempted to call and see if the offer to keep Cassie over night was still on the table. She hadn't, though, and Emmett had been a perfect gentleman when he'd dropped her off at her house. He'd walked her to her car, and after an only slightly awkward moment, he'd bent and kissed her gently goodnight.

"I'll see you in the morning?"

"I'd like that." Janet had said, her hands resting lightly on his arms – which were still wrapped gently around her.

"You sure you don't want me to take you to Colonel O'Neill's to get Cassandra?" He had seemed as loath to end the evening as she was, but Janet knew it had to end, and she wasn't going to make him deal with a nosy Jack O'Neil. Bad enough _she_ had to.

"I'll do it." She smiled and they had kissed once more. "It's late, and you should go get some sleep"

"I'll see you in the morning"

"Yes"

"We still have to do your interview."

Janet had smiled. It wasn't something she was worried about.

"I know."

Another kiss, and they'd parted, reluctantly.

"Are you going to see him again?" Jack asked, asking the question that Cassie had obviously been planning on asking next.

Janet nodded.

Cassie smiled.

"Wellâ we'd better get home." Fraiser said, unwilling to be ganged up on by those two any more that night. She was sure Cassie would have a million questions to ask on the way home, but that was only to be expected, and Janet didn't have anything to hide. She'd had a wonderful evening.

"I'll walk you out," Jack told them, heading barefoot for the door, with Jaffer right beside him. The two of them would make sure they made it to the car and on their way safely. Even though Jack's neighborhood was safe – and even safer since the addition of Jaffer – O'Neill never took chances.

He walked the two of them to Janet's car, and opened the door for Cassie.

"Thanks for having her over, Jack," Janet told him as Jaffer walked with her around to the driver's side door.

"She's welcomed anytime, Doc," Jack said, giving Cassandra his best smile. "Tomorrow night, even"

Which was his way of asking if she had made plans for the next evening.

Janet smiled as she opened the door.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Which was her way of saying she might have.

"See you, Jack." Cassie said, buckling her seatbelt.

"Night sweetheart."

"Night Colonel."

"See you in the morning, Doc."

Jaffer came back around to stand next to Jack and the two watched them drive off, and then went back inside, where Sam was waiting for them.

"What did she say?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Jack scowled, but he wasn't really all that annoyed, and Sam knew it. "I told her if she wanted to bring Cassie over tomorrow, we'd take her."

"Good."

Sam slid her arms around his waist, leaning against him for a long moment. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"You okay?"

"Mmm-hmmmâ just tired."

"We'd better get you to bed, then."

"Yeah."

"You can pretend to be sick tomorrow, and spend the morning in the infirmary pumping Janet for information about her date."

Sam smiled.

"You're too nosy for your own good."

"You're not?"

"Well"

"Uh huh."

He let her go and took her to bed. Time enough to find out everything he wanted to know the next day. He was patient. He could wait that long, at least.


	14. 14

_Author's Note: There's an occasional odd-looking symbol coming up in my posts. It's not me doing it, it's the site, so ignore them if you can. I try to catch them, but some of them are slippery and I miss them._

OOOOOOOOOO

Sam didn't pretend to be sick the next morning. She didn't have to. When she woke up, she felt awful, and she only felt worse as she showered and dressed. Jack hovered protectively close, watching her for any sign that she needed anything – and definitely making sure she wasn't going to pass out again.

"I'm fine, Jack," Sam told him, secretly touched at how concerned he was. "Women get morning sicknessâ€ it happens all the time."

Yeah, but it'd never happened to him. Sara had never been sick when she'd been pregnant with Charlie, and of course he hadn't been around when Dotty had been pregnant with Shawn. So he hovered. And so did Jaffer, who easily picked up on Jack's own anxiety.

"You could call in"

"I'm not going to call in every day I don't feel good," she told him, pulling on a clean uniform. "I'd never get any work done."

"Maybe we should call Dotty and see if it's the Stargate that's making you sick"

"It's not the gate, Jack. It's the baby, and it's natural. And Dotty and I are going to have lunch this weekend, so I'll discuss it with her then." She was also planning on discussing going through the Stargate – something she was almost terrified to do for fear of losing the baby by going through too soon. Dotty had said a few weeks, and it'd been about that – maybe a little more – but Sam didn't want to take any chances. She wasn't going to miscarriage this time.

He didn't look convinced, but he also didn't want to nag when he already knew she wasn't feeling good. She recognized that, and she appreciated it when he stopped mentioning her calling in. Instead, he told her to sit down on the bed and put her shoes and socks on for her – since bending over triggered her nausea even more than the smell of food. Then he asked if she was ready to go.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

He shook his head.

"We'll eat later – when you're feeling better." Fraiser had mentioned medications that could hold back her morning sickness and allow Sam to eat; Jack figured the infirmary would be their first stop when they got to the base.

"What about Jaffer?"

Since Sam's sense of smell had become incredibly acute with her illness, even the very faint odor of Jaffer's dog food made her feel sick, and Jack didn't want to expose her to that, either.

"He can eat when I do. He doesn't mind."

Jaffer wagged his tail as if he'd been following the conversation and agreed with Jack, and Sam smiled. Crazy guys were going to starve if she didn't get her morning sickness under control sometime soon.

"Then I'm ready to go."

"I'll drive."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Janet was in the infirmary early. Considering how late she'd been up the evening before, she was looking and feeling refreshed and happy. Her mood wasn't lost on Daniel, who was in the infirmary looking for something for his aching head.

"What happened to you?"

Daniel looked up at the sound of Jack's voice at the door, and a moment later found his hands filled with one cheerful black lab who was looking for attention.

"He had a bit too much to drink last night and apparently fell and hit his head." Janet told them, smiling a good morning to Sam and Jack as the two came into the infirmary.

"I did not," Daniel said, defensively, his hand going to the pair of butterfly bandages that covered a cut on his forehead – a cut that had been stitched at a hospital the evening before rather than bothering the people in the base infirmary. "Sally and I went ice skating and I fell and hit the edge of the wall around the rink."

Sam smiled.

"I like her version better."

"Yeah, but mine is the truth – you can call and ask."

"You don't know how to ice skate?" Jack asked, incredulously.

Daniel scowled.

"I'm learning."

"Not very well, apparently"

"How are you feeling Sam?" Daniel asked, looking over at her and changing the subject. Sam looked a little pale this morning, although she also looked like she was in a fairly good mood.

"Sick." Jack answered for her. He looked at Janet. "Didn't you mention having something that could take care of that?"

Fraiser nodded, looking over at Sam intently.

"Just ill? How did you sleep last night?"

"You mean once you finally showed up from your hot date?"

Janet blushed, slightly, and smiled.

"Yes."

"What date?" Daniel asked.

"She had a date last night." Jack said, grinning. Yeah, this was worth missing breakfast for.

"Oh? With whom?"

"Emmett Bregman," Janet said.

"_Bregman_?"

"Why does everyone say it like that?" Janet asked, scowling, slightly. "He's not Jack the Ripper, you know."

Jack smiled.

"Nah, he's not."

"He asked you out?" Daniel asked. Then he realized what Jack had said and looked over at the Colonel. "_You_ like him?"

Jack scowled.

"I didn't say that."

"So you _don't_ like him?"

"I didn't say that, either." Jack shrugged. It was hard to not at least tolerate someone who'd kept Sam from getting hurt, after all, and Jack had to admit that if Janet Fraiser had a thing for the guy – and it was obvious to someone as observant as Jack that she did – there had to be something about him that wasn't half-bad. "He's not Jack the Ripper."

Sam was looking at him with just as much surprise as Daniel was, and Janet was looking surprised as well, and also a bit gratified. If Jack O'Neill approved of Emmett – and it was obvious to Janet that he was grudgingly admitting to just that – then maybe she had found someone that was a keeper.

"See?"

Daniel smiled. At least it explained why she was in such a good mood this morning.

"Did you have fun?"

"We went dancing." Janet turned the subject from her date to Sam's stomach. "Did you get sleep last night?" She asked again.

"Yes."

"Well, it's not hyperemesis gravidarum – which is an extreme form of morning sickness – but it's something we need to control, obviously. So we'll give you a small dosage of Geradim, just to take the edge off so you can hold something down – a breakfast shake or something equally healthy and filled with vitamins. That way you won't be passing out left and right. And it won't hurt Halley."

"Whatever you think is best," Sam said, agreeably. She didn't care. She just wanted something to keep her from feeling sick.

"_Halley_?" Jack frowned. He didn't think much of that name.

"Haley?" Janet asked.

Jack shrugged, losing the frown.

"That one's not too bad"

"It is for a _boy_," Sam said, defensively. She was still the only one who thought she was going to have a boy, and was always being ganged up on by the others. "He'd get beat up all the time."


	15. 15

"_You went out with her_?"

Ben Crane was sitting at a table in the Commissary with Emmett Bregman. Both men were just sitting down to a hearty breakfast, and Ben hadn't been able to help but notice just how full of smiles Bregman had been that morning. And he'd asked why. Bregman's answer had been immediate, but Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yes."

"Are you _nuts_?"

"No." Emmett frowned at the younger man. "Why would you ask that?"

"She's one of _them_."

"Them?"

"She's _military_, Emmett!" Crane realized there were a few people looking his direction, and he lowered his voice to keep the conversation a little more private, although his shock wouldn't allow him to keep it down completely.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Are you _kidding_? The Military is full of people who _can't_ make a commitment. Did you know there's more divorces in the military than _any other_ occupation? Why do you suppose that is?" He didn't wait for an answer. He answered it himself. "Because of all the physically fit bodies running around. All that _eye candy_! How could anyone stick to just one person with that much temptation running around?"

"That's not true," Emmett said, shaking his head. "The people I've seen so far are just as normal as anyone else, and Janet is _wonderful_ and –"

"She's a _doctor_!" Brad hissed. "She sees all these guys naked! Do you have any idea _how_ much that's going-"

A tape fell onto the middle of the table between the two men, and Crane stared at it. It was one of his. He and Emmett both looked up from their conversation and saw Jack standing beside them. Neither had heard the Colonel coming, and neither had any idea how long he'd been standing there. Beside him, his dark head just visible above the table, was Jaffer – and he didn't look any happier than Jack did. His normally cheerful brown eyes were watching Ben intently. The cameraman paled.

"Colonel O'Neill..."

Jack's face was completely unreadable. If either man had known him, they'd have known this was when O'Neill was at his most dangerous. As it was, though, only Jaffer was aware of just how very unhappy he was at the conversation he'd just overheard.

"I thought you might like your tape back." Jack's voice was as emotionless as his expression.

"Uh..." Ben was absolutely floored. He had no idea what to say. Emmett started to say something, but Jack held up a hand to stop him – although his eyes were strictly on Crane.

"Come with me."

Jack didn't give the younger man an option. His free hand was suddenly on the collar of the light jacket Ben was wearing, and he pulled the cameraman to his feet easily. Crane was too stunned to even resist. His chair tipped over, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to them. No one said anything, though. They didn't know what Jack was doing, but they were all aware that he outranked them, and as he pretty much dragged the younger man out the door, a quiet murmur of conversation followed them out.

Emmett watched, stunned by the sudden turn of events of the morning, but he stumbled to his feet, concerned that Jack O'Neill was about to kill his cameraman. It wasn't a thing he thought jokingly, either. There was no mistaking that Jack was dangerous, and Jaffer – who Janet had told him was equally dangerous, had followed him out of the room. He figured he'd better follow.

OOOOOOOOO

Jack's office wasn't all that far from the Commissary, but it felt like a mile long walk to Ben, who was still far too stunned by O'Neill's sudden appearance to do anything more than walk next to him. A green mile. The hand was still on his collar, and there was no doubt in Ben's mind that if he tried to resist, O'Neill would just drag him behind him. Or feed him to the dog. Jack ignored the looks that were thrown his direction by people they passed, and he opened the door of his office and with a less than gentle push shoved Ben Crane into the room ahead of him. He looked down the corridor and saw Bregman following him, and looked down at Jaffer.

"Guard."

The black lab sat down in the corridor, guarding the door to Jack's office. No one would come in until Jack cleared the order. Except Sam, who was the only person on the base beside Jack that Jaffer didn't intimidate when he had his head down low and his tail wasn't wagging. And Sam was in the infirmary, talking to Janet and Daniel. She wasn't going to interrupt.

The door closed just as Emmett crossed the last cross-corridor, but the interviewer came to a sudden stop when he realized that Jaffer wasn't going into the room with O'Neill and Crane. He hesitated, unsure what to do and wondering if Jaffer would let him through. That question was answered immediately when Jaffer's head turned to watch him suspiciously, and the lab's lips pulled back, exposing those impressive fangs. Yeah. Emmett wasn't planning on chancing those teeth. He'd wait right there.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Colonel O'N-"

"Shut up."

Ben's mouth closed with an audible snap.

"Doctor Fraiser is a friend of mine." Jack said, his voice calm, but anger suddenly flashing in his eyes as he thought of what the bastard had been saying about Janet. "She's a great person, a fine doctor and almost a sister to me. Do you have _any_ idea just how little I like the fact that I just overheard you telling anyone what kind of woman she is?"

"I didn't-"

"_Shut up!" _

He did as he was told, his eyes watching Jack, but the rest of him absolutely frozen.

"You don't know anything about her. You don't know anything about anyone here, or _anything_ here. You're not here to make judgments about the people here, and you're not here to mess around with the love lives of those around you, are you?"

"No, sir."

"You don't know what kind of person she is, do you?"

"No, sir."

"But you _do_ know what kind of person _I_ am, don't you?"

There was no doubt of what kind of person Jack was. Ben knew. Jack was dangerous.

"Yes, sir."

"I can't kill you. I'd be court-martialed. And I _like_ the military."

Ben gave a sigh of relief that Jack didn't hear, but O'Neill wasn't done, yet.

"Do you know the _one_ person on this base who loves Janet Fraiser more than I do?"

Ben shook his head.

"_Teal'c_." Jack said, simply. "You know who Teal'c is?"

The cameraman blanched, and nodded.

"You know _what_ Teal'c is?"

"Yes, sir."

"He's not in the military. He doesn't have to worry about being court-martialed. And he has a temper that can become explosive when it's roused. Do you see where I'm going with this, Mr. Crane?"

Only a stupid man could have missed the implications, and Ben was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid.

"I do, sir."

"I'm going to tell you this once. And only once." Jack said, and now his hand was almost companionably on Ben's shoulder. "If you say another word about anyone at all that doesn't have to do with your interviews, Teal'c will find out about this conversation – and the reason for it. He'll do what I can't – I assure you. Do you understand?"

Ben nodded, feeling his knees go weak. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that Jack O'Neill was serious.

"Not another word. _To_ anyone. _About_ anyone."

"No, sir."

"Get the hell out of my office."

Ben couldn't leave fast enough. He practically bolted for the door, and when he opened it, he almost tripped over Jaffer, who turned his attention form Emmett Bregman to the younger cameraman, and Ben paled even more – if that was possible. Without a word the man headed down the hall, and when Emmett turned to follow to see if he was okay, he was stopped.

"Mr. Bregman? A word, please..."

Emmett paled, too. He looked down at Jaffer, who had moved to stand beside Jack, and then at O'Neill. The man's face was unreadable. He turned and went back into his office, followed by Jaffer. Bregman took a look at his rapidly disappearing cameraman, and then swallowed and followed those two through the door.


	16. 16

Emmett stepped around Jaffer, watching the black lab carefully to make sure he didn't step on his tail or do something that might set him off.

"Relax. He's not going to hurt you." Jack said, walking over to his desk and sitting on the edge of it. "Close the door, please."

"So there'll be no _witnesses_?" Emmett asked, reaching behind him and closing the door, nonetheless.

That actually made Jack smile, although he was still angry enough with the cameraman that his smile wasn't completely humorous.

"_I'm_ not going to hurt you, either," Jack told him, crossing his arms over his chest and using one foot to rub Jaffer's shoulder when the black lab came over and sat down beside the desk, still watching Emmett – although the suspicious look was gone from his eyes and his teeth were no longer visible.

"And Ben?"

"I didn't touch him." Jack assured him. "Not that I didn't want to, though, but he's not worth me getting into trouble for. I save that for special occasions. Like people who hurt those I care about..."

Emmett had just started to relax a little, but he was suddenly tense. Had Janet not had a good time the night before and mentioned it to O'Neill? Had he done something inappropriate without realizing it? Too many kisses? A touch he didn't realize he was making? Stepped out of line somewhere?

"I'm-"

"You haven't done anything," Jack said, watching as the interviewer's mobile face gave away his thoughts. Jack was good at reading other people's faces, after all.

"Then why are we having this discussion?"

"Because I'm going to give you a warning – and if you mention it to anyone – _especially_ Janet Fraiser, I'll deny it and come find you in a dark alley somewhere. _Then_ there'll be no witnesses..."

Despite the levity of the words, there was no doubt in O'Neill's tone that he meant it.

"What warning?"

"Janet had a good time last night. She _seemed_ to, anyways." Jack held up a hand when Emmett started to say something. "What you two did is none of my business. Not now, not ever. I'm only mentioning that because she seems to actually... like... you."

"I like her, too."

"Yeah." Jack looked down at Jaffer for a moment. "I've liked her for a long time. We're friends. She means a lot to me."

That much was obvious.

"You're worried I'll hurt her?"

"I'm _not_ worried you'll hurt her," Jack said. "That's what this warning is all about. You seem like a nice enough guy, Mr. Bregman, and so far everything I've seen you doing is backing that up." He didn't mention Sam, of course, and he didn't bother mentioning that he'd heard Bregman telling Ben Crane that Janet was a wonderful person – he'd just let the reporter wonder what he'd seen. "But if you hurt Janet – or play games with her that hurt her, I _will_ kill you. I like her too much to allow anything like that to happen."

"I'm not planning on hurting her, Colonel," Bregman said. He thought he should be angry at the threats he was receiving, but surprisingly, he wasn't. He believed O'Neill. Believed that if he hurt Janet Fraiser – purposely – that Jack O'Neill, and most likely Jaffer – would come find him and make him pay, but he wasn't worried. He didn't plan on hurting Janet – he'd _never_ hurt Janet – and he could see that O'Neill was simply trying to protect her. How could he be angry about that? It showed he was right about Janet, after all, that she'd have someone like Jack O'Neill willing to pull a would-be wooer aside and threaten bodily harm if she was hurt. "I like her."

Jack studied him carefully for a long moment, his entire body still except for the foot that was still rubbing Jaffer's side. Finally, though, he nodded.

"I like her, too."

"I can tell."

"She's saved my life more than once."

Emmett nodded, unsure what to say about that.

"She saved _Jaffer's_ life once, too."

Which meant even more to him, Bregman could tell.

"I'm not planning on hurting her."

"Good."

Jack stood up, his arms dropping back to his sides.

"Let's go get some breakfast."

"What?"

"Breakfast," Jack repeated. "I interrupted yours, and I haven't had any yet. So let's go eat. I'm grumpy if I miss breakfast."

"You want to eat with me?"

"Why not?" Jack asked, genuinely amused – although he didn't let it show too much. "You know how to use a fork and a napkin, right? You're not going to embarrass me by being a pig, I assume."

With that, he headed for the door.

Emmett stared at him as he walked out of the room, with Jaffer an ever-present shadow at his right side. The man had been threatening him only a moment before and now he wanted to eat with him? What was that all about? Did he always change on a dime like this? Was it intentional, to keep him off guard? Did he-

"Are you coming?"

With a start, Emmett turned and headed for the door as well. This was crazy. Of course, the whole SGC was a crazy place, so he wondered why he was surprised.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So..."

He looked down at the dog that was walking between him and O'Neill, and then over at Jack, who had looked over at him when he'd spoken up.

"Hmm?"

"Janet said she had a good time?"

"You had your doubts?"

"Not until you'd brought it up..."

Now Jack smiled.

"As far as I know, she did."

"Good."

"But then, I'm just a _guy_, and she doesn't tell me everything."

They walked into the Commissary, and Jack paused at the doorway, looking around to see if Sam had come in, yet. Nope. Daniel wasn't there, either, and neither was Ben Crane. His interrupted and untouched breakfast was still at the table – along with the tape Jack had brought over. And Emmett's breakfast. Jack wasn't all that surprised that the cameraman had lost his appetite.

"Go ahead and sit down," O'Neill said. "I'll join you in a second."

Without waiting for an answer, he and Jaffer crossed the room. Emmett ignored the curious looks of those around him – everyone had probably figured he and Ben were going to be killed – and went over and reclaimed his chair. Someone had already up righted the one Ben had knocked over.

He wondered where his cameraman was and if he was going to join them, and decided that as long as he was sitting with O'Neill, there was no way the younger man would eat with him. Ah well. He hadn't really liked the reaction to his dating Janet, anyways, and could do with a break from that. At least for the amount of time it took to eat his breakfast.

He was just reaching for the ketchup when he saw movement at the entranceway, and Samantha O'Neill walked in with Janet Fraiser and Doctor Jackson. Emmett wondered for a moment where Teal'c was, but he lost that train of thought when Janet looked his way and he felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled his direction. He waved back, wondering if she'd come eat with him, or if she was going to stick with Samantha and Daniel Jackson.

"There's Jack," Daniel said, gesturing towards the serving windows unnecessarily. Sam had seen him the moment she walked through the door.

"There's Emmett," Janet said, smiling over at the interviewer and feeling a surge of pure joy go through her when he smiled and waved. It _had_ to be chemistry.

"I wonder where Jack's sitting," Daniel mused, looking at the empty tables. He didn't want to hang out at the door all morning. It shocked all three of them when Jack finished gathering a mountain of food and headed for the same table Emmett Bregman was already seated at.

"Uh..."

Yeah. That was how they _all_ felt.


	17. 17

Jack sat down, with Jaffer close beside him, eagerly watching the plates of food on the tray. Since neither of them had had any breakfast, they were both drooling over the aroma of the food in front of them. Emmett took in the huge amount of food, and the way Jaffer was looking at it, and picked up a slice of bacon. Now that he was fairly certain O'Neill wasn't going to kill him, he thought he might try to make friends with the black lab, as well.

"Is he allowed people food?" Bregman asked, holding the bacon up so Jack could see what he wanted to give him.

Jack smiled.

"He demands it."

"Will he bite me?"

"No."

"Jaffer..."

The black lab turned from the plate Jack was making him to Bregman, his eyes lighting up when he saw the bacon. Both men could hear his tail thumping gently against one of the legs of Jack's chair.

"Make him do a trick for it," Jack told him, using the time to snag a bite of his toast. _He_ was just as hungry as Jaffer, after all. Then he started piling some of the food that Ben had left uneaten onto Jaffer's plate, as well.

"Like what?"

"Tell him to shake hands."

"Shake hands, Jaffer," Emmett said, dubiously. He smiled when a large paw was immediately presented. Taking it in the hand that didn't have the bacon, Emmett shook his paw for the briefest of moments, and then held the bacon to him. The white teeth flashed, but although Bregman felt the soft tickle of the whiskers on Jaffer's mouth, the lab didn't even come close to him with those teeth. The bacon vanished in an instant, and Emmett smiled, again, charmed.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Is he doing _tricks_?" Sam asked softly, utterly shocked. Not that Jaffer would do a trick for a piece of food – Jaffer would pretty much do _anything_ for a piece of food – but that Jack had allowed the man to ask his pride and joy to do it. Obviously, Jack thought more of Bregman than Sam knew. She looked over at Janet, who was positively beaming, and realized that Jack was probably making an effort because of Janet. Janet cared for Bregman – there was no hiding that – and Jack cared for Janet, so he'd try and be friends – or at least _friendly_ – with the man, to put Janet at ease. Wow.

"Looks like it," Daniel said.

They were all in line to get something to eat. Now that her stomach wasn't rebelling, Sam was starving. Daniel hadn't had breakfast yet, and Janet had eaten a hurried meal with Cassie, but had been interrogated by her daughter so thoroughly that she hadn't had much of a chance to eat anything.

"Shall we join them?" Fraiser asked.

They carried their trays over and immediately drew Jaffer's attention, which drew Jack, and then Emmett's. Jack smiled when he saw who it was, and moved over to make room for Sam and her tray, and she and Daniel sat down. Emmett moved as well, making room for Janet, who blushed just a little when he told her good morning, much to Jack's amusement.

"What are you two up to?" Sam asked, watching a Jack finished putting Jaffer's breakfast on the plate and handed it down to the lab.

"Just talking."

"About what?" Janet asked, before Sam could.

Jack reached out and picked up the tape he'd dropped on the table earlier.

"Interviews." He lied. There was no way he was going to tell her – or Sam, for that matter – about Ben's comments. Now that he'd taken care of the problem – and he was certain the problem was taken care of – there was no need for anyone else to know.

"Oh?"

"Yes," Bregman said, figuring that if that's what O'Neill wanted to say they were talking about, then that's what he'd say they were talking about, too. "I was just asking Colonel O'Neill here when I'd be able to interview him..."

Everyone turned to Jack, who scowled. Well, that had certainly _backfired_ on him, hadn't it?

"When's he doing it, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"Later."

"Today?"

"Just _later_, Daniel," Jack told him.

Emmett smiled.

"I was actually thinking-"

_"Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Medical teams to the embarkation room!"_

Jack was on his feet immediately, his breakfast and the interviews forgotten. Janet was just as fast. Although she had a trauma team always on standby when there were teams off-world – and there were several just then – she also was the senior medical officer, and when there was a medical emergency, she knew where her responsibilities were. Everyone else stood as well, and even as Jack and Janet bolted from the room, with Jaffer right behind Jack, Sam and Daniel followed just as quickly. Right behind them, after only a moment's hesitation, came Emmett Bregman.

OOOOOOOOO

"What's going on, Sergeant?" Jack asked as he entered the command center. Janet looked down at the gate, which was activated behind the heavy protective iris. Her medical team was ready and waiting, she was pleased to see, and she turned to Davis as well, waiting to hear what was happening. A moment later Hammond entered the room, followed by Daniel, Sam, Emmett, and a few seconds later, Teal'c and Jack.

"We're receiving a radio transmission from SG-4, sir," Walter answered, although it wasn't immediately apparent which Sir he was addressing. He was looking down at his computer.

"Can we hear it?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, Sir."

A moment later they heard a lot of static.

"I'm trying to clean it up, Sir." Davis apologized, turning a knob here, and typing in a command there.

_'-vy fire and we've taken casualties! We need back up! Now! Repeat! We are pinned down and under heavy fire and we've taken casualties!'_

"SG-4 is with SG-10, Sir," Jack said, already trying to think of what teams were available to go as backup to get them out.

"See if you can get through to them, Sergeant. Ask them where they are, and how many enemy there are."

"Yes, Sir."

Hammond hit an intercom button on the wall.

"SG-3, SG-5, and SG-8 report to the embarkation room in full gear." He turned to O'Neill. "Colonel, get your team ready to go as well."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack hesitated, though, turning to Sam, who paled. She hadn't been through the gate yet, not since she'd found out about the baby, and she wasn't sure it was safe for her to go through yet. Obviously, they were both thinking the same thing.

"You can't-"

"I can't-"

It was just as obvious that she didn't want to send him off alone. As Daniel and Teal'c headed for the door, Jack was torn – as was Sam. _He_ didn't want her to feel abandoned, and _she_ didn't want him in a dangerous situation where she wouldn't be there to back him up.

"Do you want me to leave you Jaffer?" He asked, thinking that the lab would keep her from being alone while he was gone.

"_No_." Jaffer was his backup. Sam would really worry if the black lab weren't there with Jack – especially since _she_ couldn't be. "Go, get ready..." She pushed him towards the door, knowing he'd still hesitate if she didn't look like she was completely sure about him going.

A moment later, he was sprinting down the corridor behind Teal'c and Daniel, with Janet once more by his side.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, looking over at her, although he was sure that he knew the answer.

"I'm going, too. You heard him; they've taken casualties. They'll need a medic."


	18. 18

_Author's Note: Oh ye of little faith! Would I kill Janet after giving her a new boyfriend?_

Bregman had never seen the gate in action, although he'd heard all about it. He watched intently – and with a slight chill going up his spine – as the Sergeant that had been talking into the radio, gaining information Bregman didn't understand, but that Sam and General Hammond both did. By the time Jack reappeared with Daniel and Teal'c and several other men and women all dressed in camouflage and flak-jackets and carrying weapons, Sam and Hammond had a fair idea of what they were going to be facing and met them in the embarkation room. While Janet checked with her corpsmen who were accompanying her and the other teams – they were dressed in camouflage as well, although none of them were carrying more than pistols – Hammond explained the situation to Jack and the other members of the rescue team.

"SG-4 is holding the gate," Hammond said. "But they're under fire, which means you're going to be going in hot. SG-10 is pinned about a hundred yards from the gate, and they have injuries and can't all get out." The implication there was that if one couldn't get out, none of them would go out. But Hammond didn't have to explain that to the SGC members. They already knew that you didn't leave anyone behind. Especially with the Goa'uld.

"We'll get them out," Jack said, confidently. The other team leaders nodded, and they all stood to the side as the gate started to dial.

"SG-5, left flank," Jack ordered, positioning his men and women before they went through. On the other side there would be chaos and they all knew it. "SG-3, you're right flank. 8 and 1 will spearhead and break through the lines."

Everyone nodded, and Jack looked at Janet. "You and your medics stay close to us."

"Right on your tail, Colonel," Fraiser agreed.

The gate flared, and Emmett flinched in surprise, but nobody noticed. Those who were going were making last minute – and completely unnecessary checks on their weapons and supplies, and Sam was watching Jack, worried.

Jack glanced over at her, as if aware of her concern, and as he waved the flanking teams through the gate, he gave her a cocky grin. He'd be back.

Sam's answering smile was forced, but it was there. She'd be waiting.

"Let's get this room cleared for the medical teams," Hammond called, clearing technicians and spare personnel out of the room to make room for gurneys and medics to take care of the wounded the rescuers would be bringing back.

"What do we do now?" Bregman asked Sam, unsure of what he was supposed to do – or if there was a way he could help.

"We wait," Sam said, wrapping her arms around herself, anxiously. She didn't like being on this side of the gate.

"Does..." Emmett hesitated. "Does Janet do this often? I thought being a doctor would be a... safer job..."

"No." Sam told him, noticing through her own concern just how worried Emmett was. He'd seen all the guns and the armor, and was intimidated by it. And scared. But Sam knew he was scared for Janet. "Only when there's a serious injury that needs her. Most of the time we bring the wounded to her."

"Why aren't – why didn't _you_ go? I mean, you're on SG-1, right?"

"Because I'm pregnant, and we're not sure yet that I'm far enough along that gate travel won't hurt the baby."

He smiled, despite his concern for Janet.

"Congratulations."

Sam nodded her thanks.

"How long until they get back?"

"It depends on what they've run into." Sam told him. She took his arm, and headed to the door. "Let's go to the command center so we can listen in on what's going on." She had to know what was going on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_What's going on_?" Jack asked, yelling at the CO of SG-4. They'd rushed through the gate, only to find nobody firing at them.

"They've withdrawn, Sir!" They could still hear firing from further up the slightly traveled pathway that led into a heavy cover of bushes, but there were no energy bolts being tossed their way. Although from the looks of the chipped pieces of metal and concrete showed obvious signs that there _had_ been weapons fire here. "SG-10 is still taking fire, but we're not, so we can hold the gate."

Jack looked at the people he had with him, and made some decisions. Thinking quick and changing plans without panicking were part of the reason he was such a good field officer.

"SG-5, you stay here with these guys and make sure the door's open when we get back. Fraiser, you and your medics stay with SG-8. When SG-3 and my team break through the lines, you and SG-8 come in and get the injured. Don't waste any more time than you absolutely have to."

"We'll be ready, Colonel." She gestured for her medics to all move to stand with the people of SG-8, who would help carry wounded or medical equipment while the rest of the rescuers covered their backs.

Jack looked down at Jaffer, who was watching him intently.

"You keep an eye on her, little man," Jack murmured to his black lab. He hated the few times when medics came with him through the gate – not because he hated medics, because he didn't – but because he hated that they were so vulnerable. Especially Janet. Fraiser heard his command, despite how softly he spoke, and she raised an eyebrow – a trick she'd picked up from Teal'c.

"What about you?"

"I'll have Daniel, Teal'c and Jack to cover me. You might need the backup."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me, Doctor."

They could argue in the infirmary, but not when there was always a chance someone might start shooting at them any minute.

Janet nodded, and went over to stand with her crew, watching Jack and the others for the word to go. Jaffer looked up at Jack reproachfully, but when O'Neill gestured for him to join the doctor, he did as he was told.


	19. 19

It was chaos. Just like it always was. They didn't have any advantage of surprise, since the gate was loud and animated when dialing up, and the Jaffa on the other side who'd been attacking SG-4 had known someone was coming through to help. Otherwise the humans holding the gate would have went through when they had the chance. So they'd fallen back, concentrating on trying to break through the gunfire of the other group of humans – the ones they had pinned.

The problem there was that not only were the humans fighting like three or four times their number – despite having wounded – but they were also in a highly defendable position. A small gully that couldn't be overrun and surrounded by heavy brush that was almost impossible to get through easily. Especially for big men in heavy armor.

When the humans came through the gate, they came unchallenged. When several of them broke off from the main group and headed through the brush, though, the Jaffa started firing at them.

_"SG-10! This is O'Neill! We're coming in hot from your west and drawing heavy fire. We'd prefer none of it came from you!"_

Despite the pain of a broken shoulder – which _really_ made firing a machine gun hurt – the CO of SG-10 smiled as she keyed her radio.

"_We hear you coming, Colonel! We've got beer in the fridge!"_

_"Save me a cold one..."_

Jack fired at a Jaffa who showed just a bit too much of himself, and he went down, just as Teal'c's staff weapon fired over Jack's shoulder and took down another. The Jaffa were thick in this spot, which was hopefully the only place they were. Everyone knew that they were fighting not only the ones that had been pinning SG-10, but also the ones that had been attacking SG-4. Of course they were thick. On the plus side, with that many it would be hard to miss with a scattering weapon like a machine gun.

The Jaffa were furious fighters, but they were now pinned themselves. Between the bullets from SG-10 and the bullets from SG-1, and 3. The crossfire – once the rescuers got close enough to make it a tight fight – was devastating, and the Jaffa were forced to fall back a little. Which was good and bad for O'Neill's group. Good because it eased up the amount of fire they were taking, and bad because it spread the Jaffa out even more, which was dangerous.

_"SG-8, bring em in!"_

_"Let's go!"_

SG-8 and the band of medics went swarming from the safety of the gate, running hard with backboards and stretchers and carrying only the most necessary of equipment. SG-3 and Jack's team were now very much aware that they had noncombatants on the field, and the gunfire picked up as they tried to clear an even better alley for the medics to run through. They _did_, too.

Only a few stray bolts of energy blasts rocketed through the air between the corridor SG-3 was making and a moment later Janet was diving into a gully – or tripping, but _diving_ sounded better – and landing next to a blood-smeared Sergeant she didn't know much more than by name, but knew to be a member of SG-10.

"Am I glad to see you!"

Janet smiled and ripped open a field dressing, pressing it against his cheek, which was torn open and gaping. When one of her corpsmen dropped down next to her carrying a stretcher, she had him hold that bandage in place and started looking for more injuries.

"We'll get you out of here," She told the Sergeant, sliding her hand under his tattered jacket and vest, feeling for another wound. He was far too still for there to be only one injury. Sure enough, her hand came away bloody, and she ripped open the remaining pieces of his jacket to expose a nasty staff wound. "Just hang on, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Janet pulled out another dressing, and a roll of tape to hold it on, and bent to her work, completely unaware of the Jaffa that were sneaking up on her and the people she was with.

_"SG-1! We have four people down on SG-10! The medics are working on them, now!"_

"_Get them out of there,"_ Jack yelled into his mike. The Jaffa must have had reinforcements coming from somewhere as well, because it seemed like the return fire was getting thicker and thicker. _"We're not going to be able to hold forever!"_

_"Yes, Sir!"_

The CO of SG-8 grabbed up his SG-10 counterpart, carefully draping her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and then looking over to see Doctor Fraiser wrapping a bandage around the chest of a young Sergeant.

"We've got to get out of here, doc! Colonel O'Neill is taking heavy fire!"

"Go!" Janet said, waving a bloody hand at her medics who were all working feverishly to get their patients stable enough to move safely. "Get going! We're right behind you!"

She finished what she was doing, and gestured for the corpsman who'd been helping her to put a stretcher under the young man and the two of them rolled him onto it as gently as they could.

"Easy! We're going, now..."

He nodded, trying to hide just how badly he hurt. He was a _Sergeant_, after all, and Sergeants didn't cry. _Everyone_ knew that!

OOOOOOOOO

"Jack!"

Daniel's position was suddenly taking the brunt of the return fire, and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to handle it on his own. He was getting better and better with guns as the years went by, but he still didn't have that knack for them that Jack and Sam did, and he knew he never would. He couldn't keep up the constant barrage of firing that Jack could, and he was close to running out of ammunition for his machine pistol – and he'd need cover while he put in a new clip.

O'Neill was there instantly, with Teal'c covering him as well, and Jack reconverging on their position as well. The yellow lab had been romping through the brush, flushing out Jaffa who were trying to sneak in under the weapons fire. The problem with a crawling Jaffa was that they were very vulnerable to an attack, and Jack used this to his advantage, ripping into legs and calves mostly, although occasionally he'd attack one from the front and get a piece of an arm or a hand. Then, of course, the Jaffa would lunge to his feet to get away – or to attack – and would be mowed down by SG-3 or 1. It was an effective system.

"Reload, Daniel!" Jack called, hearing the tell-tale click of an empty clip. Jack saw a movement from the right, just as Teal'c saw one from the left, and both turned and fired. Two more Jaffa fell. And were immediately replaced by others.

Daniel pulled another clip from his vest and started loading it into the stock of his weapon when he saw a pair of Jaffa rising up from the brush right in front of him – no more than twenty feet.

_"Jack!"_

The yellow lab reacted instantly, launching himself at the closest one. The white teeth flashed and there was a startled cry of pain as the Jaffa suddenly found his wrist slashed wide open. The staff weapon dropped, and the yellow lab pressed his advantage, snarling furiously and ripping at ay skin he could find exposed.

O'Neill turned at the sound of his name as well, and his weapon came up. As Jack (the dog) took down the closest one, Jack's machine gun fired – far closer to Daniel than was comfortable for the archeologist, although Jack was positive of his aim or he'd never have fired. The Jaffa dropped, and Jack turned his attention back to the Jaffa that had been coming up beside him.

Too late.

The distraction of saving Daniel had been an instant too long, and the staff weapon fired before Jack could get his gun completely back up and targeting. O'Neill felt a searing pain in his shoulder as the blast hit him, and despite his best intentions to stay on his feet, the force of the blow spun him and knocked him to the ground.

_"O'Neill!"_

Teal'c dispatched his own Jaffa, and then killed the one that had just shot Jack. Both went down in a heap.

_"SG-1, this is 3! We're taking casualties!"_

_"As are we!"_ Teal'c called into his radio. _"We must get the medical teams cleared!"_

_"We're bringing the wounded now!"_ Came the voice of SG-8's CO, slightly out of breath. But so was everyone else.

Daniel dropped to the ground next to O'Neill, leaving Teal'c to cover them both.

"Jack!"


	20. 20

Jack winced when Daniel rolled him over.

"Don't _grab_, Daniel," he complained. "I'm not dead."

He _was_ hurt, but it wasn't anything too serious. Certainly not worth Daniel getting upset about.

"Are you all right?"

"No. Help me up."

Daniel pulled Jack to his feet, and handed him his P-90, which he'd dropped when he'd been hit. Jack was already on the radio.

_"SG-8, what's your status?"_

_"We're coming out, now, Sir! We have two medics and one soldier unaccounted for, but the Jaffa are swarming us, and we can't get back to them!"_

"Shit." Jack thought for a moment as Daniel and Teal'c resumed firing at the Jaffa. _"SG-5, what's your status?"_

_"The gate is dialed, Sir! We've started putting injured people and medics through! All others are waiting on you and 3!"_

_"Roger! I want your team to come here and give us some back up. We've got to get the door open again!" Meaning they needed to get to the trapped people._

_"We're on our way, Sir!"_

_"SG-4, hold the gate, and keep it open!"_

_"Aye, aye, Sir! We'll be ready when you are!"_

There was a loud burst of gunfire from somewhere behind them, and Jack knew SG-5 was already on the way, guns blazing as they cut their way back through the Jaffa who were trying to cut 1, 3 and whatever medics and wounded might still be out there, off from the rest of the teams.

"Teal'c!" Jack yelled over the sound of trees being murdered. "We've got to get to those trapped people!"

"I am ready, O'Neill!"

"Daniel?"

"Ready, Jack!"

They were the spearheads, still, after all, and this was their assignment. Jack looked down at his bleeding shoulder, realized he wasn't going to be able to fire his gun with much accuracy, and slung it over his back and pulled out his Beretta.

"Let's go!"

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Let's go!" Janet called, grabbing one end of the stretcher and waiting for the corpsman to take up the other before standing up.

"Not like that!" The wounded soldier yelled, trying to warn them not to expose themselves to the weapons fire by standing upright like Janet just had. Fraiser looked down at him, unsure what he meant.

"Get _down_!" He yelled, rolling off the stretcher in a frenzy and landing with a groan. The corpsman dropped his end of the stretcher and dropped next to him to see what was wrong with him, and Janet turned to do the same when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. A Jaffa had stood up when she did and was pointing a staff weapon at her.

She froze.

Jaffer didn't.

The black lab had been doing pretty much the same thing his brother was doing; running through the heavy brush, flushing out Jaffa who were trying to get too close to those in the gully. Jaffer wasn't going for just legs and hands though. He never did. The Jaffa who found themselves facing the big dog also found themselves soon bleeding from scalp wounds if they weren't wearing protective helmets – and not all of them _were_ in the heavy brush – or hamstrung if the lab had snuck up behind them. Jaffer was dead on accurate with his teeth, and he'd had a lot of practice – both in the field and in training – when it came to taking out a full-grown man.

Aware that he was too far away from the Jaffa, Jaffer lunged at Janet, slamming into her and easily knocking the doctor over, even as the staff weapon went off. She gasped in pain when the energy bolt struck her a glancing blow, the force of the blow spinning her and knocking her to the ground on top of her patient, who tried to catch her and ease the fall – even though it really hurt to have someone fall on you when you were already hurt and bleeding.

"_Jaffer_!"

He didn't turn. Now that she was out of the way, he was free to take care of the Jaffa. Through a haze of pain, Janet struggled to her knees, holding her side tightly and looking down to make sure the Sergeant was okay – more or less – and then looking over to where the black lab had just vanished into the brush.

"Doctor?"

"I'm fine."

Where had she picked up _that_ particular response? Even through her pain and shock, Janet had to find the humor in that. Humor that vanished instantly when she saw two more Jaffa coming through the brush towards them.

The Sergeant's weapon was close by, and the corpsman picked it up, knowing he had a better chance of hitting anything with that than he did with his own pistol. The medics were trained in the field, but not extensively, and they weren't all the best of shots. Before he could fire, though, Jaffer was there, snarling and tearing, his teeth flashing and snapping, and blood spraying from the closest Jaffa's throat as the black lab found his favorite target.

"Shit!"

Even Janet – who _knew_ how ferocious the dog could be – turned a little green at the sight. Jaffer's jaws clamped down tight once he had a grip and he shook his head, apparently trying to pull the Jaffa's whole head off. The three in the gully simply watched, frozen, at the gruesome sight.

The second Jaffa had been frozen by the sight as well, but only momentarily. He raised his weapon, pointing it not at any of the humans, but at the black lab. Jaffer snarled at him around the mouthful of throat he had, as if daring him, but before the Jaffa could fire, a bolt shot by Janet's shoulder and hit the Jaffa square in the face. Pieces of him flew everywhere, making what Jaffer was doing look like a romp in the park. Now even the Sergeant looked green around the gills.

"Doctor Fraiser!" There was no mistaking that deep voice.

"Teal'c!"

"Are you all right?"

"We're going to need help!"

"We are coming!"

"Stay down, Doc!" Jack yelled from somewhere to the side, and Janet heard a pistol firing.

"I have a wounded man, Colonel!"

"We'll get him!" Jack told her. "Keep your head down, God damn it!"

A moment later Daniel came tumbling into the gully, crashing into Janet – who gasped in pain when he jarred her injured side.

Daniel noticed instantly, and the clever quip that he'd been thinking of saying died on his lips.

"Are you all right?"

"She's hit!" The corpsman yelled.

"_Who's_ hit?" Jack asked, rolling into the gully as well.

Jaffer came bounding over to him, wuffling his shoulder, and leaving a bloody trail on Jack's already bloody uniform.

"_Janet's_ hurt," Daniel said, trying to take a look at the doctor's side. She pushed him away, though.

"We've got to get out of here, Colonel! The Sergeant's hurt a lot worse than I am."

Jack nodded, pushing Jaffer to the side so he could see Janet's face. It was ashen and her eyes were glazed in pain. She was going into shock. He, on the other hand, felt better than he had when he'd rolled into the gully. Which was crazy, he knew.

He grabbed for his radio.

_"SG-5?"_

_"We're here, Sir! Bring them out, the doors are all open!"_

_"Roger."_

Jack looked at Teal'c.

"Take Fraiser."

"I will."

"No he won't! I don't need to be carried out of-"She was interrupted when Teal'c picked her up and slung her gently over his shoulder, making sure her uninjured side was the side that was pressed against him.

"Daniel! Grab the other end of the stretcher. Sergeant, get on."

"Yes, Sir."

The corpsman and Daniel grabbed the stretcher, and Jack, Jaffer and Jack (the dog) all stood as well, scanning the brush around them. The dogs would see any Jaffa coming before Jack did, he knew. Which was why one guy with only one useful arm was able to cover the retreat. Because that one guy had two other weapons at his disposal. Two very dangerous ones.

"Let's go!"

Daniel and the corpsman followed Teal'c, scrambling up the slight slope of the gully, forcing their way through brush.


	21. 21

"Come on, Jack!"

It's not an easy thing to run while holding up one end of a stretcher with a wounded man on it, but it was even harder to do it while being shot at and at the same time trying to keep looking back over your shoulder to make sure your best friend is coming behind you. Daniel was doing just that, though.

"Move!"

This was from Kelly Thorpe, who was the CO of SG-3. He and his team were taking the brunt of the Jaffa attacks, and things had started looking pretty bad until O'Neill had ordered SG-5 out to give them some backup. Bleeding from a scattering of small scratches on his forehead and cheek, taken when a tree crashed down nearby and the branches, Thorpe didn't look like someone to argue with just then.

Daniel turned and ran.

A moment later, the two labs and Jack made their own appearance.

"_Thorpe_!"

"Here!"

"Where are the rest of your team?"

"All in front of us, Jack. We're the last of them. SG-5 is holding the far edge, and SG-4 has the gate. SG-8 is through the gate with the medics. You okay?"

He'd noticed Jack's left arm hanging oddly and it was hard to miss all the blood.

"I'll be a lot better when we get the hell out of here." Jack told him.

Thorpe took Jack's Beretta and reloaded it for him with a clip from his own vest.

"Let's go then! I have a hot date tonight!"

"You'll have plenty of time," Jack said, taking his gun back gratefully. "The pound is open until 6 on Tuesday."

Thorpe laughed, despite the dangers around them.

"Screw you, Colonel, Sir!"

Jack grinned.

"Tell your people to make a run for the gate. We'll be the last ones out."

Thorpe was already on the radio when the two of them and the labs headed for the gate.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The wounded were trickling in.

Because she wasn't able to help the medics – wrong kind of doctor and all that – Sam stayed in the command center where she'd have a good view of what was going on and who was coming in. Emmett Bregman was right beside her, his face so close to the glass that he was almost touching it.

_"Where is she?"_

"She'll come," Sam assured him. At the same time, though, she was waiting for Jack and the others, as well.

"The other doctors are coming through..."

_"...have two medics and one soldier unaccounted for, but the Jaffa are swarming us, and we can't get back to them!"_

Sam had heard the message as well, coming from the radio that Sergeant Davis was using to allow General Hammond to monitor what was happening off world. She knew Emmett was afraid that Janet was one of the missing medics – and truth be told, Sam was worried, too – but she tried to reassure him anyways.

"Jack's not going to leave until _everyone's_ through, Emmett. Trust him..."

He turned to her, noticing that she was pale.

"He always makes sure everyone's through?"

"Yes."

God, no wonder she was worried. Even though she could hear his voice, she knew that he was actually making a target of himself by staying longer than the others. And the more people he sent home, the fewer guns he'd have backing him up.

"He's going to be fine, Major O'Neill..."

Sam smiled, realizing he had picked up on her concern. She nodded.

"I'm not worried."

"Me, either."

_Uh huh._

With silent sighs, they both turned back to the glass, worried expressions almost identical as they waited to see the ones they were watching for.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Be careful with her!"

Teal'c handed Janet off to one of the medics waiting at the gate. A big man who easily picked her up in his arms – just as careful of her wounded side as Teal'c had been – and charged through the gate. By the time they'd reached the gate, Janet's wound had gotten the better of her, and she'd passed out, so she wasn't able to argue about the need for her to be carried. Which was just as well.

Teal'c turned and jumped from the gate platform, hefting his staff weapon and heading back towards the trees. He had to find the others. Just as he reached the trees, Daniel and the corpsman emerged, carrying the stretcher.

"Where is O'Neill?"

"He's coming!" Daniel gasped. It was a miracle neither he nor the medic was hurt – or a sign of just how well SG-3 and 5 had opened the doors. Whatever it was, they weren't injured. Just out of breath from the sprint.

While Daniel headed for the gate with his burden, Teal'c went into the trees, keying his radio.

_"O'Neill!"_

_"We're coming, Teal'c!"_

A moment later the last of SG-3 came flushing through the trees, all three injured, but mobile. With them was SG-5, who were holding most of the wounded peoples' gear so they didn't have to carrying it.

"Move!" Teal'c shouted. "I will cover you!"

The Jaffa stood himself between the hasty retreat and the rest of the forest, his staff weapon down and ready, his eyes watching for any sign of danger. There was no way he'd just start firing into the trees, after all. Not when there were friendlies on the other side of them.

The underbrush rustled, and Teal'c lowered his weapon, anticipating yet another crawling Jaffa trying to sneak up on him. A moment later, though, a blonde bundle of energy – streaked with crimson – came rushing at him with a joyful bark. A moment after that, the yellow lab was joined by a larger black one, and then Jack O'Neill and Kelly Thorpe.

"Is everyone cleared?" Jack called, looking at Teal'c and at Thorpe as the three men started trotting to the gate, now that they were cleared of the heavy trees.

"I witnessed several of the SGC team members coming through," Teal'c told O'Neill, taking the Colonel's P-90 from him so it wouldn't rub his wounded shoulder. "I did not see them all, however."

There was someone who would have – and who would have kept track.

_"SG-4?"_

_"We're here, Sir!"_

_"Status? Who's left on this side?"_

_"Just my team, Thorpe and you and Teal'c, Sir! Teal'c is on his way to find you, everyone else is on the other side!"_

_"Teal'c is with me, we're on our way right now!"_

An explosion off to his left made all of them flinch as yet another tree took a direct hit. Better a tree than a person, as far as Jack was concerned.

"_Shit!" _

They kept running. In the open there wasn't anyplace to dodge to, anyways.

"_We're under fire!"_ Jack called into his radio, using the same hand to key his mike as he was using to hold his Beretta – no easy trick, especially at a full sprint. _"We're almost there, but we're coming in hot! Watch out!"_

"_We're watching for you, Sir!"_

Sure enough, as they turned the last curve, they found a wall of four men all holding their weapons up. As Jack and the others ran past them, the machine guns came down and they all started firing, a solid wall of bullets that dropped the handful of Jaffa that were coming around the bend, intent on getting off one last shot at the humans before they could escape.

"Go!"

Once Jack made it to the edge of the gate, he called the members of SG-4 back.

"Do we have everyone through?" He asked as Jaffer came over to stand next to him, the black lab soaked in blood. Jack wasn't worried about Jaffer, though. He knew the lab was all right, even with all the blood. He'd _know_ if Jaffer was hurt.

"_Everyone's_ through, Sir!" SG-4's CO told him, coming in at a run with the rest of his team. "I counted them as they came!"

"Let's go, then!"

Jack and Jaffer watched as the others bolted through the gate, then the two of them ran through as well.


	22. 22

"There she is-"

"Oh, God..."

Emmett didn't need Sam to point out Janet's arrival through the Stargate. He was watching for her, and his heart went into his throat when he saw her very still form being carried by a medic.

"Come on."

Sam's hand was on Emmett's arm, pulling him by the sleeve of his shirt as she headed for the door of the command center. She needed to be closer anyways. Jack should be coming through any minute, and she wanted to see why he wasn't.

He let her pull him, even though he was a lot larger than she was, and could have resisted. As numb as he felt suddenly, though, he couldn't have done more than follow her. God, what if she was... he wouldn't think that! She was fine! She had to be. He hadn't even had a chance to ask her about another date...

Sam didn't lead him into the embarkation room. There just wasn't room for anyone in there that didn't need to be. People were coming through the gate at a run, now, and there was a lot of blood flowing – testimony to the seriousness of the fighting. Fighting that Jack was in the middle of. Without her.

Instead they went to the doorway, where they could see people coming out of the gate room. Medics were hauling the injured away on gurneys doing triage as they went to see who would need surgery immediately and who could wait until more medics and doctors were free. Sam and Bregman stood waiting, and there were a lot of gurneys coming through before one came out the door with the same big medic pushing it that had been carrying Fraiser's still form.

"How is she?" Sam asked, walking beside the group of doctors who were working to stabilize one of their own.

"She took a staff blast to the side," the big medic told Sam as they rushed past. He didn't say more, and when Emmett tried to follow, Sam held him back.

"They're not going to let you in."

"But-"

"Emmett. Trust me, I know. You're just going to be in the way..." Sam's eyes were filled with sympathy – as well as her own very real concern for her friend's health – but she knew that if they went barging into the infirmary, they'd be doing more harm than good. Especially with the huge number of casualties. Add to it that a number of the injured were medics, and you already had a disaster. One that Sam wouldn't add to.

"But..."

She pulled him to the side as another gurney came through, this time carrying a young Sergeant and being pushed by a medic who was splattered with blood but didn't seem to be injured himself. Daniel came through the door as well, and stopped when he saw Sam and Bregman.

"How's Janet?" He asked, coming over. "Did you see her? Was she conscious?"

Sam shook her head.

"We saw her, but she wasn't awake, and they didn't tell us how she was." Sam hesitated. "Where's Jack?"

"He's coming. He took a hit to the shoulder – but he's okay, Sam." Daniel was quick to reassure when he could. "He's on his feet last I saw."

"And Teal'c?"

"On his way back to cover Jack's retreat."

Sam nodded, feeling concern and relief both sweeping through her. A moment later Teal'c came through the door as well, carrying a P-90 and his staff weapon, and obviously looking for someone. Beside him walked Jack (the dog), who was splattered in blood.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked, gesturing to the lab.

"He is fine."

"Where's-?"

She was interrupted by Jaffer's sudden appearance. Where Teal'c's yellow lab was splattered with blood, Jaffer looked like he'd been bathing in it. Crimson was literally dripping off his jet-black fur and pooling under him.

"Oh my God!"

Emmett had never seen anything bleeding so badly and still standing on its feet. He started to reach for the lab, but Sam pulled him back.

"Don't touch him, Emmett."

"But he's-"

"He's not hurt, but when he's riled up like this, he might bite," Daniel said. "He's-"

Again they were interrupted, this time it was Jack who came through the door. He was being followed by a pair of young medics who were pushing a gurney and obviously trying to get him onto it.

"Colonel –"

Jack turned on them both, obviously out of patience. They must have been following him since he'd emerged from the gate.

"I'll be in the infirmary in a minute, I said! Go take care of someone who's really hurt – before you join them..."

A low growl echoed in the corridor, and everyone looked down at Jaffer, who had pulled his lips back, revealing bloody fangs that looked no less sharp for being smeared. Jaffer wasn't in the mood for an argument. The medics paled, and headed down the hall, and Jack turned to Sam.

"How's Janet?"

"They didn't say..."

She was looking at him, studying him to see where he hurt.

Like Daniel had said, there was an obvious shoulder injury. Jack's arm was hanging uselessly. He was splattered with blood, but Sam couldn't tell if it was his or if it was someone else's. She suspected it wasn't his. He didn't seem to be in too much pain, and he didn't seem to be going into shock.

Aware of her scrutiny, Jack gave her a smile – a slightly forced one, but one that reached his eyes. He handed his Beretta to the closest person – Emmett Bregman – and took Sam's hand with his good hand.

"Don't look so worried. I'm fine." He assured her. "It wasn't even close."

Sam felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she tried to turn her head and hide them, but Jack knew her very well, and didn't miss much – not when it came to Sam. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his good arm tightly around her and ignoring the fact that he was smearing her with blood.

"Shhh..." He whispered, as Teal'c and Daniel moved to block the scene from everyone else who was passing them. "I'm fine... I promise..."

She clung to him, needing his strength for a long moment, stealing his courage because hers was gone completely. She hated being left behind. Hated the way she'd been forced to worry about him. Hated the not knowing...

"I'm sorry..." she sobbed into his vest.

"Don't be..." He ran his fingers through her hair, calming her, and continued to whisper reassurances in her ear. "It's okay, Sam... it's fine."

Finally, she pulled away with a last forlorn sniff, and wiped her eyes, looking down at Jaffer, who was watching the two of them, the deadly gleam in his brown eyes finally fading.

"He's a mess," Sam said, using the black lab as a distraction from her own outbreak.

"Not as much of a mess as the Jaffa," Daniel told her, with a certain amount of satisfaction.

Emmett looked down at the bloody Beretta in his hand, and gave it back to Jack, looking for a place to wipe the blood off his hand. There wasn't anyplace, though. The whole world was suddenly bloody, it seemed.

"Thanks," Jack said, taking his gun and tucking it into the waistband of his pants. "Let's go see how Fraiser's doing."

"They won't let us in."

He looked down at Jaffer, knew the lab would get him in anywhere he wanted to go, but decided that threats weren't going to help just then. Then he looked at his arm.

"I'm wounded. They'll let me in. I'll let you guys know what's happening."

With that assurance, Jack led them all down the corridor, Jaffer and Jack following, and leaving a trail of bloody paw prints.


	23. 23

He walked into the infirmary with Jaffer close to his side, but the others stayed back at the door. In deference to his rank, no one immediately booted him out. In deference to the obvious fact that he was injured, once they noticed him, they were quick to put him up on an examination table, where a medic started helping him take his vest and shirt off. Jaffer jumped up easily on the bed next to him, and although the medic shied away from the bloody black lab, he didn't have the guts to order Jack to tell Jaffer to get down. Or order him to do it himself. Only Janet would have had the guts to do that, and she did it because she wasn't intimidated by the lab – or by his owner. Of course, Janet wasn't there to do it, and Jack looked over at one of the surgery rooms.

"How's Doctor Fraiser?" He asked, wincing as the medic began probing his wound, using a cloth to wipe away some of the blood.

"She took a nasty hit to the lower abdomen," the medic told him. "We're worried about her kidney on that side, but as long as it's okay, she should be, too." The medic looked around. A large number of tables were holding wounded. More than he'd ever seen before. "What a mess..."

Jack wasn't sure if he meant the room, or the people, or his shoulder wound – which looked messy to him.

"Yeah... how long will it be before you know how Fraiser's going to be?"

"She's in surgery, now, Sir." The medic was only too happy to tell him what he knew. He was quite an admirer of O'Neill's. "It should be a few hours- maybe more. Depends on the kidney."

Jack winced when the man started cleaning burned and tattered pieces of his uniform out of the shoulder wound, and the medic grimaced in sympathy.

"Let me give you something for the pain, huh?"

Jack scowled. That _should_ have been the first thing on his list of things to do.

"Good idea."

A couple of injections later, and Jack could watch the medic clean his wound with a sort of detachment that only came with the help of good painkillers. They were only local injections – the wound was serious, but not bad enough to operate on – the x-rays showed that the shoulder wasn't broken, although there was a bit of damage to the tendons and muscles.

"Who's operating on Fraiser?" Jack asked, watching as corpsmen moved in and out of the operating rooms like a ballet without music. Jaffer was sitting beside O'Neill, watching what the medic was doing, but not threatening him at all. His brown eyes were cheerful, and aside from all the blood, he was back to his usual self.

"Captain Frankle."

"He's the new guy from DC?"

"Yes, Sir. He's the best, though."

Only the _best_ for their own CO, as far as the medics were concerned. This was fine with Jack, though. He looked over and saw the others all peeking through the door, and waved them in with his good right arm. The fury was dying down a little, now that all the wounded were in the infirmary and being looked at. They wouldn't be in the way if they were careful.

Jack hopped up on the bed on the other side of Jack, who ran his blood-smeared right hand along the yellow lab's blood-smeared nose.

"All three of you are a mess," Sam said, smiling in relief to see him looking so healthy. The shoulder wound wasn't life-threatening, but Sam had figured they'd have ushered him into a gown and into a bed by then.

"How do you feel, Colonel?" Emmett asked, looking slightly green at the sight of all the blood. Jack was just glad it wasn't his. Mostly.

"I'm fine."

"He's not 'fine'," the medic said as he started to bandage the wound. "But he _will_ be."

"Fraiser's in surgery, now," Jack said, knowing that Emmett was more concerned about Janet than he was Jack – not that O'Neill blamed him. "She's going to be fine, but they're checking her kidney to make sure it wasn't damaged by the staff blast... or something like that..."

Sam looked at the medic, who knew what she was asking with that glance. He nodded.

"He's right."

"She'll be okay?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, Sir."

There was no mistaking the relieved look in the reporter's expression. Or in Daniel, Teal'c and Sam's.

"Are you keeping Jack here?" Daniel asked the medic.

"No." Jack said.

"Probably for the night," the medic said at the same time.

"No." Jack glared.

The medic frowned.

"I'll ask..."

"I can leave. I feel fine."

"You're staying at _least_ overnight, Colonel."

They all looked up at the sound of a new voice, and Jack scowled when he saw it was one of the senior doctors. The man's lab coat was bloody, a sure sign that he'd been dealing with some of the more seriously injured patients, but there was no mistaking his expression. With Janet in surgery, he knew he was in charge, and none of his patients were going to be discharged that day.

Jack scowled.

The doctor ignored it. He'd picked up a few things from Janet Fraiser over the years he'd been working with her, after all.

"Are the dogs hurt?" He asked, running a hand along Jack's (the dog's) neck and shoulders, completely unconcerned about getting blood smeared on himself.

"Jaffer isn't."

"How can you tell under all that blood?" The doctor asked O'Neill curiously.

Jack shrugged.

"I don't know. But I know he's not hurt. I'd know if he was."

"Jack appears to be uninjured as well," Teal'c said, appreciating the fact that the doctor had asked. "I will take him to the showers and clean him off to make sure."

"Take both of them." The doctor said. "They're making the infirmary look like a butcher shop."

"I'll help you, Teal'c," Daniel offered. "Will he come with me, Jack?"

Jack looked over at Jaffer, who wagged his tail, idly.

"Sure, Daniel. Just don't use that peach shampoo on him. I _hate_ it when he smells like peaches."

"_You_ use the _strawberry_ stuff on him..."

"I _like_ strawberries," Jack said.

"Me, too," Sam agreed, smiling.

"Come on, Jaffer," Daniel said, patting his thigh. "Let's go get cleaned up." He wanted a shower, too, after all, and definitely didn't mind sharing the locker room with Teal'c, Jack and Jaffer.

The big lab looked over at Jack, as if to ask if he wanted him to stay, but Jack smiled and leaned over and pressed his cheek against Jaffer's – again getting smeared with blood.

"You get cleaned up, okay?"

Jaffer licked Jack's face, and hopped off the bed gracefully. Jack followed his brother.

"We'll be back in a bit." Daniel told him.

"I guess I'll be here..."

Sam smiled.


	24. 24

"How do you know Jaffer's okay?" Emmett asked curiously as they all watched the labs, Daniel and Teal'c leave the infirmary. "The doctor's right; he's covered in blood."

Jack shrugged – which really hurt.

"I can _tell_ when he's hurt."

"How?"

"He looks different, I guess."

"We have a bed ready for you, Colonel." One of the medics told him, coming over to presumably help him get changed into the gown he was holding in his hand. Jack frowned. He wasn't wearing a gown! He didn't need to stay overnight – but he was going to have to – but no one could make him wear a gown.

"Sam? Would you go get me a pair of sweats, or shorts? Anything you can find in my locker to wear besides that?"

She smiled.

"I'll be right back."

She'd have to hurry, too. Otherwise she was going to end up walking into the locker room when the rest of the team was showering – not that Sam cared if she saw Daniel and Teal'c naked, and _they_ probably wouldn't care, either, but she'd distract the dogs that were getting bathed, and being swarmed over by two excited and very wet (not to mention bloody) dogs was _not_ a fun thing. Unless you wanted to shower, too. Which she didn't.

"How much longer until Doctor Fraiser's out of surgery?" Jack asked the medic that was holding the unnecessary paper gown.

He shrugged.

"I can let you know when she's out, if you like, Sir..."

"You do that." Jack looked over at the row of beds the infirmary had to offer. Most of them were filling up with patients who were going to be kept overnight, just to make sure they weren't hurt too badly. "Which bed am I in?"

"The one on the end."

That was the one Sam had been in. Jack smiled, although he knew he wouldn't be able to smell her scent on the pillow or anything. It was still poetic.

"Fine. I'll go over there on my own. I don't need help."

"But-"

Jack scowled, and chased the medic away with a dirty look. Bregman couldn't help but smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Jack asked, standing up and gesturing for the reporter to follow him as he walked down to the other end of the room.

"Are you always this grumpy?"

Jack shook his head.

"Only when I'm stuck in here."

He reached out with his right hand and slapped the foot of SG-10's CO as he walked past her bed. She was in a cast that covered her entire torso and most of her right arm and she looked slightly drugged up. But she grinned and managed a wave to acknowledge Jack's hello.

"You're the second in command here, though, right?"

"Of the SGC," Jack confirmed.

"So... don't you outrank _everyone_ in here?"

"Yup."

"Then you're not _really_ stuck in here, are you?" Emmett asked. "I mean... you _could_ just get up and leave, right?"

Jack smiled, and stopped next to the bed he'd been pointed to. Drawing the curtain around it, he awkwardly started pulling off his pants. He didn't want the blood on his uniform to smear the clean sheets, after all.

"I _could_," he said. "But I'll tell you something, and you keep it to yourself, you understand?"

Emmett nodded, grabbing O'Neill's Beretta once more as it started to fall from his waistband.

"Thanks." Jack took the gun and put it on the stand by the bed. Undressing one-handed sucked.

"You were saying...?" Emmett pressed.

Jack smiled.

"The medical staff here is top-notch." He said, sitting down on the bed and pulling the blankets over himself with his good hand. "Not only _Fraiser_, but the people she has around her. The corpsmen. The nurses. The research people. All of them are the best there is anywhere in the world. As much as I complain, I'm not stupid. If they want me to stay overnight, then there's a reason. If I'm grumpy, and they hate dealing with me being grumpy, and they _still want me to stay_, then I know there's a _real_ reason for it. I'd be an idiot not to do what they tell me."

"So you're just gauging how serious you're hurt, by how much they insist you stay?"

"Something like that." Jack confirmed. "Doctors don't always like to tell their patients just how badly they're injured, you know. I learned that a long time ago."

"That's pretty clever."

"Just keep it to yourself."

Bregman nodded.

"So, do you think Janet's _really_ going to be okay?" He asked, suddenly, thinking Jack would know more if the medics were acting overly optimistic just to keep everyone else from worrying.

"Yeah. I saw the wound. Fraiser got lucky – it could have been a lot worse. Probably it was just a glancing shot."

"That's _lucky_?"

"Hurts a lot less than a direct hit." Jack told him, giving him a wry smile.

"That sounds like experience talking."

"Uh huh."

OOOOOOOOO

He was still talking to Jack when Sam returned a few minutes later. She came around the curtain without warning and smiled to see him already in his bed.

"Need help with these?"

She held up a pair of sweats.

Jack smiled.

"Not in mixed company, I don't."

Bregman smiled, too.

"Should I leave you two alone?"

"Nah." Sam tossed the sweats onto the bed, and reached over and picked up his bloody Beretta. "_You and I_ are going to go have a cup of coffee while we wait and see how Janet comes through her surgery, and _Colonel O'Neill_ here is going to take it easy for a while."

"Sam, I'm-"

"It's the doctor's orders, Jack," she told him. "I'll take care of your gun for you. You get some rest. I'll see you in a bit."

"But-"

Sam leaned over and kissed him softly, smothering whatever argument he might have been planning to make.

"I love you," she whispered.

He sighed, and gave her a one-armed hug.

"You won't be gone too long, will you?"

"Nope."

"I love you, too."

She smiled and straightened up.

"Come on, Emmett. Let's go get something to eat."

"Hey! You just said you were having _coffee_..." Jack protested. He wanted something to eat, too.

"We might find a donut or a piece of pie that needs dealing with..." Sam told him, hooking her arm through the reporter's, and leading him out from behind the curtains. They could hear Jack grumbling to himself about the unfairness of it all even as they walked down the aisle formed by the beds.

Emmett had a feeling he'd just been allowed onto the inside of a very personal moment between the two, and that they'd done it deliberately to keep his mind off how worried he was about Janet Fraiser. He squeezed Sam's hand, silently thanking her for that, and she smiled, as if to tell him he was welcomed.

"Pie?"

"Sounds great," he told her.


	25. 25

_Author's Note: Remember now; Jack owes Emmett for keeping Sam from getting hurt when she passed out. PLUS he's trying to be nice because Janet's obviously sprung over the guy. So he's a lot better with my Emmett than he is the Hero's version... As for the rank thing.. I'm not sure :)_

The commissary was almost completely deserted, so it wasn't hard for them to find an out of the way table, and there was no line for pie. Sam got a piece of apple, Bregman took pumpkin, and with the pie in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, they went over and sat down.

"So..."

Sam looked up from her pie.

"What?"

"How long have you known Colonel O'Neill?"

"Almost 8 years."

"How long have you been married?"

"Since August 12th. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"Habit, I guess. I do interviews remember? I just _have_ to know everything about everyone around me..."

Sam smiled.

"How long have you been doing this kind of thing?"

"Making documentaries, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Since I was a boy – although back then I didn't have a cameraman of my own, and I was using an old 8mm camera."

"Do you still have them?"

"Somewhere."

They continued chatting over their snack. Sam was asking more questions than Emmett did, although this was only because he allowed her to. He was normally much better at imposing himself into the conversation and getting his questions answered – but he wasn't in the mood to be pushy, and he knew Samantha O'Neill wasn't someone to be pushy with, anyways. And not _just_ because he was certain it was a good way to get on Jack O'Neill's bad side – something he definitely didn't want to do.

He was on his second cup of coffee and was telling her about his schooling when they were interrupted. Jack (the dog) came rushing up to the table, cheerfully looking at both of them, his nose looking for evidence that they might have something to eat that he might be able to talk them out of.

Sam reached down and scratched his shoulder before she realized he was still rather damp. Obviously he'd just gotten out of the shower. She looked over, knowing that Teal'c had to be close by, and sure enough, he and Daniel walked through the door only a moment later.

"Hey."

Daniel smiled, his dark hair just as damp as Jack's blonde hide was.

"Hi. What are you eating?"

"It _was_ pie."

Teal'c came over as well, but he stopped and gathered a couple of slices of pie for himself before joining them.

"Where's Jaffer?" Emmett asked, looking for the black lab.

Daniel shrugged, taking a cup of coffee from Teal'c with a smile of thanks. "Last I saw, he was heading down the hall. Probably on his way to the infirmary to join Jack."

"You let him wander around on his own?"

Sam nodded.

"Pretty much. He's a smart dog, and he knows where to find Jack. It's not like he's going to get lost."

"He's been wandering around here since he was a puppy." Daniel added.

"Besides," Sam said, smiling. "Would _you_ like to try and stop him from going wherever he wants to?"

"Good point."

Emmett turned his attention to Teal'c, then. Since he had the Jaffa sitting there, he figured it was a good time to learn something about him – and the Jaffa was probably fascinating enough to keep his mind off just how worried he was about Janet. Well, mostly, anyways.

"How long have you been with the SGC, Teal'c?" He asked.

And so the conversation turned.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jack _wasn't_ tired. He hadn't been up all that long that day, and there was no reason he should be nodding off like he was. He told himself that, anyways, once he forced his eyes open once more. Of course, the pain pill he'd been given once he'd had his shoulder wrapped and his arm put into a sling wasn't helping things, and he knew it, but he wasn't going to fall asleep until he knew Janet's condition, and that meant staying awake until the medic came and updated him. He just needed a distraction.

"How are you feeling, Colonel?"

The curtain around his bed was opened a bit, and Jack found looked over and Saw Hammond standing there. The General had come down to check on his troops, of course. There were a lot of wounded, but he'd been heartened to hear that most of them were minor. Janet Fraiser was the only one still in surgery, and she was expected to make a full recovery. They were just keeping everyone down over night – to make sure no one was going to keel over from blood loss or something.

"Fine, Sir." Jack said, sitting up a little straighter. Here was the distraction he needed, right on time. "Have you heard anything on Fraiser's condition?"

"Not yet. Only that they expect she'll be fine. She's still in surgery."

Jack nodded.

"I'm told that _Jaffer_ saved her," Hammond told him.

"Oh yeah?" That wasn't something he'd heard.

"Sergeant Riley said he did."

"I wasn't there, Sir." Jack admitted. That galled him, too. But he'd had other responsibilities, and had done what he could to make sure Janet had had all the back up he could give her. A whole SG team, and _Jaffer_. And she'd _still_ been hurt.

"You did your job," Hammond said. "She did hers. I'll debrief each team separately, but so far what I'm hearing makes it sound like everything went off smoothly considering the amount of resistance you and your people were facing."

"There were a lot of them," Jack admitted. "We-"

Jaffer stuck his nose through the curtain just then, popping in from out of nowhere just behind Hammond.

Jack smiled, his report forgotten as Jaffer brushed past the General and hopped up onto the bed beside him. He was damp, and smelled of wet dog and strawberries, but when he cuddled up against Jack, whuffling him happily, O'Neill wrapped his good arm around him and pulled him even closer.

Hammond smiled at the show of affection from his normally reserved second in command.

"Get some rest, Colonel. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, Sir."

He didn't want to rest, though. He wanted to wait and see how Janet was. Despite this resolve, however, his eyes closed almost immediately, as if he'd only been waiting for Jaffer to join him before drifting off to sleep. The black lab sighed, and rested his head lightly on O'Neill's bare belly, and watched the activity around him as he guarded his Jack while he slept.


	26. 26

_"Do you need me?"_

_"Nah. He's fine. I'm fine. Everyone's okay."_

_"The doctor?"_

_"She'll be fine, too."_

_There was a slight hesitation, and he sent gentle amusement as he shooed her away._

_"I'll see you this weekend. Go enjoy your lunch."_

_She left, and the presence turned his attention to Jack, who was aware of what was going on, but only deep in that corner of his mind that was awake when the rest of him was asleep. Love blanketed him as it always did when the two met like this, but it didn't overwhelm him, and Jack was able to focus enough to ask about the thing that was troubling him the most._

_"Fraiser?"_

_"They're putting her to bed, now. She's fine."_

_"You're sure?"_

_There was a surge of amusement, and Jack felt it to his very soul. It drove away his worry, and he felt only the love._

_"Have I_ ever _been wrong?"_

_Jack snorted._

_A moment of shared amusement, and then a gentle nudge._

_"Wake up and see for yourself."_

A cold nose in the warm spot where his shoulder and neck met woke Jack up. Nothing new there; Jaffer frequently used his nose to wake Jack. He brought his hand up to push the lab away, unsure for the briefest of moments as to where he was. But only for a second. It was hard to mistake the infirmary for anything _but_ the infirmary, and even through the medication they'd given him, he could remember what had happened.

"What are-?" He looked at Jaffer, but the lab's attention was elsewhere, and Jack's gaze followed that of the dog's. Through the gap Hammond had left in the curtain, O'Neill could see that Janet was being put carefully into the bed next to his own.

She was still out, but as he watched, they didn't hook her to a ton of wires and machines – only the usual ones –, which told Jack that she wasn't being monitored as if she were in critical condition. For that matter, she was being put into a regular bed and not the ICU, so that was a good sign, too. As far as _he_ knew. Better to get a second opinion, though.

"Hey..."

One of the medics looked over at the sound of Jack's voice, opening the curtain even further.

"Sir?"

"How is she?"

He smiled, relieved.

"She's going to be _fine_, Sir. They were worried about her kidney, but it wasn't even bruised. Of course, women have a little more fat around their organs than men do, so that probably made the difference."

Jack smiled, sleepily. He couldn't wait to tell Janet about her fat kidney. Then he had another thought.

"Has anyone called Cassie?"

"General Hammond wanted to wait until we had her out of surgery, so we'd have more information to give her."

That made sense. Better that she not be forced to pace the infirmary like Jack would have been, had he not been doped up and put to bed.

"Have someone call her school and go get her."

"We will, Sir."

"Someone she _knows_." Jack told him.

"Yes, Sir."

"When will she wake up?"

"In the next few hours, probably."

Jack nodded. That was good news. He ran his hand through Jaffer's jet-black fur, which was now dried. Of course, Jack felt a little damp, but it wasn't the first time the lab had used him as a towel, so he wasn't bothered at all. Jaffer looked from the medics working to get Janet comfortable to Jack, his brown eyes so cheerful that Jack felt warmed to his very core.

"Would you go find Sam for me?" He asked the lab, scratching his ears.

Jaffer snorted, and licked O'Neill's jaw for a moment, then scrambled to his feet – carefully avoiding the injured shoulder and the arm in the sling – and jumped off the bed. He disappeared a moment later, trotting down the aisle, and Jack turned his attention back to the medics working on Fraiser.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"So, Jack and Daniel were both just _beaten_ and battered, and we're down in the gym getting ready for a square dance. But they're so doped up on medication that I'm pretty sure they didn't even know their names."

"I knew my _name_," Daniel protested, smiling sheepishly. Funny _now_. Not so funny, then. Of course, he still didn't remember that night, so he wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Which made it hard to defend himself.

"You told me Cowboys used to square danced in shorts," Sam reminded him.

Bregman snorted in amusement.

"Well, I just-"

Jack's head came up from Teal'c's thigh where it'd been resting as the four of them sat and talked for the past hour or so, and everyone else turned and looked the same direction he did. Jaffer was coming through the door, his head up, his tail wagging idly.

Sam smiled.

"Jack must be awake."

"How do you know that?" Emmett asked.

"Jaffer wouldn't leave Jack if he was asleep. Not when he's hurt. He never leaves him. It drives Janet crazy."

"Really?"

Daniel nodded, confirming it.

Jaffer came over and stuck his nose into Sam's hand, and the Major ran her hand along his smooth side.

"He's awake, huh?" She asked the dog. "I suppose he sent you to come find me?"

Jaffer whuffled her side, cheerfully. Yup! _He_ was the messenger.

Sam stood up.

"I'm going to go check on him. I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you," Daniel said, standing up. "I want to see how Janet's doing."

"Me, too," Emmett said.

Teal'c stood as well, and as a group they headed for the door.


	27. 27

They didn't make it to the infirmary without a couple of interruptions. Halfway down the first corridor Hammond came walking towards them, and held up a hand, indicating he wanted them to stop and talk.

"Major, I was wondering if you'd be willing to go pick Cassandra Fraiser up from her school and bring her down here? Doctor Fraiser's out of surgery and I'd like Cassie to know what's going on now that we have information to give her."

"Sure, Sir." Sam said, nodding her head. "How is Janet?"

Hammond smiled.

"She's going to be fine."

There was a collective sigh of relief from all the people in the hall.

"That's good news."

"Yes."

"Let me go tell Jack where I'm going and I'll leave immediately, Sir."

"Thank you, Major." He hesitated, then, "Tell her if she wants to stay with me while her mother's in the infirmary, she's welcomed to."

Sam smiled.

"I will, Sir."

Sam had already figured she'd ask Cassie if she wanted to stay with her and Jack, but she'd pass on the message, anyways, because it was nice of Hammond to offer.

"Thank you, Major."

"Yes, Sir."

Hammond nodded to the others, and headed for his office. He had a ton of paperwork – most of it medical leave orientated, since he was going to send a lot of his people home for a couple of days, and needed to make sure the absences weren't charged to their regular leave. The others continued on their way to the infirmary.

"Emmett!"

Bregman turned at the sound of his name, and saw Ben standing at the far end of the corridor, looking nervously at Sam, but anxious at the same time. He frowned; he really wanted to go see if Janet was awake, but he stopped. After all, he was here for a reason, and it wasn't to find himself a girlfriend. Ben was part of that job, and he had responsibilities.

"You guys go ahead," he said, reluctantly. "I'll see you later."

"You sure?" Sam asked, wondering why the cameraman wasn't walking towards them. He was practically hiding from them, she thought.

"Yes. I'll come by the infirmary in a little bit..."

They continued on their way, and Emmett walked over to Ben.

"What's up?"

"I heard there were a lot of injuries..." Ben said, watching the disappearing group. "Your doctor was hurt?"

"She's not _my_ doctor, Ben," Emmett said, crossly, wondering what he was getting at. "I –"

"I didn't mean it that way," Crane said, quickly, holding up a hand. "Look. I just wanted to see if she was okay, all right? Don't jump off the handle. I've had enough of that already."

"Maybe if you'd think before speaking you wouldn't have that problem," Bregman told him. "Or if you kept your opinions to yourself – that'd be even better."

"Yeah, yeah." Ben ran his hand through his short blonde hair. "So is she all right?"

"She's out of surgery, and General Hammond said she was expected to make a full recovery, yes."

"Good."

Emmett sighed.

"You know, Ben..." He said, putting his hand on his cameraman's shoulder. "You're not a bad guy. I know that. And you're a hell of a camera operator. No one gets a better shot than you, and I've worked with some of the best there are."

Crane flushed slightly at the compliment, but knew there was more coming.

"But?"

"But you're too quick to judge, and that's going to get you into trouble someday."

"It got me into trouble today," Crane agreed.

"And yesterday."

"Yeah."

"You might try to apologize for being such a dick. O'Neill's a fair guy from what I've seen. You just managed to get on his bad side, and then dig yourself deeper. If you apologized, you probably wouldn't have to hide from Sam and the others, and I think you'd find the time we spend here a lot more enjoyable."

Crane scowled, but there was also a thoughtful look in his eyes. As if he didn't like what he was hearing, but he understood the validity of it.

"I'll think about it."

"O'Neill's in the infirmary right now. He'll be there for the night."

"He was hurt, too?"

"Yeah."

"Then I shouldn't bother him with-"

"If he's in bed, he can't chase you down and beat you up."

"His dog can."

"Jaffer's a sweetheart."

"I saw the bloody paw prints in the hallway."

"He's a _dangerous_ sweetheart," Emmett agreed. "But I honestly don't think you'd have to worry about O'Neill siccing him on you for trying to apologize."

Crane shrugged again. It was obvious that he wasn't endeared to the idea of approaching O'Neill – in bed or otherwise. Emmett changed the subject, figuring he'd given the younger man all the advice he could give. It was up to him to decide how to act on it and what to do with it.

"We'll start the interviews again tomorrow morning, I think. Everyone's pretty on edge right now what with all the injuries and the blood."

"Holy shit," Ben said, remembering the blood now that Emmett had mentioned it. "Have you _seen_ the gate room? There's blood _everywhere_."

Emmett nodded.

"You should have seen Jaffer and Jack – that's Teal'c's yellow lab. They were covered in it."

"Pretty dangerous stuff they do around here, huh?" Ben said, unable to hide the admiration in his voice at that. "I thought they did more exploring than anything – especially after talking to Doctor Jackson."

"The dangers inherit in going someplace where you might run into someone who doesn't like you, I suppose."

"Yeah."

Ben looked at his watch.

"Well, if we're not going to do any interviews this afternoon, I'll just go around and shoot some film of the facility, then probably just call it a day."

Emmett nodded. "I'll talk to some people today, and set up interviews for tomorrow."

"Okay." Ben hesitated. "Thanks, Emmett."

Bregman nodded.

"I'll talk to you later."

He slapped the younger man on the shoulder, and turned and headed for the infirmary.


	28. 28

He was watching the monitor. Not his – which was boring – but Janet's. She was still asleep, and showed every sign of staying that way for quite a while, but her heart rate was normal and her respiratory sounds sounded about right. Jack had seen a lot of monitors in his time, after all, and knew what was normal – more or less. As he watched the monitor he was going over in his mind the mission, and what had happened.

Jack never second-guessed himself. Not when it came to a call he made in the field, at any rate. There were very few times that he thought back to something that had happened, and decided that he should have done things differently, and this was really no exception. The more he thought about it, the more impressed he was with the way the people around him had handled themselves – including Janet and her team of medics. It might not be a bad idea, though, he thought; to maybe get them a little more in-field training. Just to be safe. It didn't have to be off-world or anything just some Military training ground like the ones used at boot camp – or even the ones used at the Air Force academy. That would-

His thoughts were interrupted when Jaffer jumped up onto his bed, wuffling him and wagging his tail as if he hadn't seen him in years. Jack's free hand came up and stroked the soft fur as he looked over to see if Sam had come. Sure enough, she, Daniel and Teal'c were all making their way over, stopping occasionally to greet one of the other wounded people. Jack trotted over and hopped up onto the bed as well, giving Jack a quick hello lick before moving over to flop down at his feet – which was good, since there wasn't a ton of room on the bed for all three of them to lay side by side by side.

Sam hesitated at Janet's bed just long enough to look at her friend's monitor. Like Jack, she'd seen enough of them in her time to know what to look for – pretty much. She seemed satisfied with what she saw, and moved over to stand by Jack's bed, giving Daniel and Teal'c a chance to check on Janet as well.

"Hey."

He smiled. He couldn't help himself. She made him feel so god, just looking at him like that.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Shoulder hurt?"

"Nah."

"Uh huh."

He shrugged, using the uninjured shoulder.

"Maybe a little."

"General Hammond asked me to go get Cassie, so I'm going to be gone for a while. I thought I'd see if she wanted to stay at the house with us while Janet's in here. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not."

Besides, it'd give Sam company that evening, since Jack was stuck in the infirmary as well.

"I didn't think you would. General Hammond asked me to tell her she was welcomed at his house, but I think she'd have a better time at ours."

"Probably." But it was nice of the General to offer. Jack wasn't surprised, though. Hammond was a warm-hearted, caring guy.

"Need anything?"

"Nah."

It was too early to start complaining about the food – they hadn't been given anything to eat, yet. Besides, it wasn't as much fun to think about being annoying when it wasn't going to be Fraiser he was annoying.

"Hey, Jack."

"Hey, Daniel."

"Need anything?"

"Nah."

"Did they say when Janet's going to wake up?"

"A few hours, or a couple hours. They didn't really sound all that sure."

"But she _is_ going to be okay?"

"They said she was."

"That's good."

"Yup."

"We should get going," Sam said, smiling. Those two weren't the best conversationalist, that was for sure. She bent over and brushed a kiss against Jack's cheek, then did the same for Jaffer, who caught her with his tongue as she was moving away. Wiping a long trail of slobber off her cheek, Sam smiled and pushed the lab's head away so he couldn't repeat the attack.

"I'm not kissing you good-bye, Jack." Daniel said.

"Nor am I." Teal'c agreed, gesturing for Jack to join him. The yellow lab hopped off the bed.

"I'd rather Jaffer licked my face after drinking out of the toilet." Jack told them.

"We can arrange that..."

He made a gesture that caused Sam to smile, and the four of them left the infirmary, leaving Jack and Jaffer to go back to watching the monitor.

OOOOOOOOO

They saw Emmett coming long before he reached them. Jaffer would never let anyone sneak up on him and Jack – well, _Sam_, but she didn't count since she was his second favorite person in the whole world – and by the time Bregman reached Janet's bed, both Jaffer and Jack were watching him instead of the monitor.

"She's going to be fine," Jack told him, softly, watching the worry in the interviewer's eyes as he looked at all the tubes, wires and monitoring equipment.

Bregman nodded, and looked over at Jack, noting that Jaffer was cuddled up warmly against the Colonel's side. It was interesting to see the bond those two had, since Jack O'Neill seemed so aloof until you actually got to know him. Then you realized that he had a very solid support base around him in the form of SG-1 and Jaffer.

"That's what General Hammond said. You're sure?"

"Yeah. The doctors told me so. They'd know best, right?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry. She's tough."

"I'm not worried."

_Uh huh._

Bregman looked around, but didn't see any chairs or anything that he might drag over to sit in. Of course, he had things he should be doing, so he really should be out doing them, but he didn't want to leave just then.

"They won't let you stay," Jack told him, taking the decision out of his hands. "Not right now, anyways."

"They might."

"Not a chance. When she wakes up, they might. But right now they'll just tell you she needs to rest, and not be hovered over."

"You're sure?"

"Trust me, I know."

"I have some interviews to set up... I suppose I could go do them..." He looked over at Janet once more, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her cheek. He wasn't sure how O'Neill would react to that, after all. And he was half afraid that the contact might hurt Janet, somehow.

"Ask one of the medics to send someone to find you when she wakes up," Jack suggested. "If I'm awake, I'll do it for you." He _intended_ to be awake, but you never knew when someone might slip him something to make him sleep, and he didn't make promises he wasn't sure he could keep.

"Thank you, Colonel."

Jack shrugged.

"So..." Bregman said, losing his worried expression and looking at Jack intently. "When can I interview _you_?"

O'Neill frowned, thinking fast.

"I'm really too hurt right now to do it..." he said, suddenly drooping a little in his bed and resting his head deeper into the pillows. "Maybe when they let me out of here..."

Emmett wasn't fooled for a minute. He was way too good at his job to be tricked, and O'Neill was a terrible liar, he could tell already. He smiled, though. It was a good try.

"I'll discuss it with you later. Maybe you and Major O'Neill would be willing to be interviewed together, or something..."

"Ask her," Jack said. That wouldn't be too bad. Sam could do all the talking – and probably confuse Bregman as easily as she confused Jack. Which would be entertaining, at least.

"I will." He would, too. "Who would I talk to about sending someone after me when Janet wakes up?"

Jack pointed out a senior corpsman, and Emmett left, flagging the man down before he could lose sight of him. Jack waited until he was sure Bregman wasn't coming back, and then he straightened up in his bed a little more. And went back to watching the monitor. It wasn't like there was anything else to do, after all.


	29. 29

Jack fell asleep watching the monitor. Not only was monitor watching boring, but the steady heartbeat thing was almost hypnotizing and he still had the residuals of the painkiller in his system. Add to that the fact that Jaffer was warm and comforting where he was cuddled up against Jack, and the Colonel didn't have a chance. He was asleep in less than a half hour.

Jaffer waited until Jack was sleeping soundly, then raised his head from O'Neill's bare stomach and looked over at the sleeping form of Janet Fraiser. Her brow was furrowed as if she was either in pain or in the middle of some kind of bad dream, and heart rate was increasing just a little. Not enough to wake Jack, and not enough to concern the medics who were passing by off and on as they tended to all the wounded men and women and their infirmary, but it was noticeable to the lab.

Jaffer snuffled Jack softly, as if to make sure he was really asleep, then he got up, hopped down from the bed and went over to the bed next to Jack's. Measuring the space that was available, the black lab jumped up easily and flopped carefully down next to her, sighing softly. He could see Jack from where he lay, and would know if his Jack needed him, but just then something in the big lab told him Janet needed him more just then. She was just as warm as Jack was, after all, even though being close to her didn't make him feel warm and gooey inside like being close to Jack did. He cuddled close, and rested his nose just under her breast – another difference between her and Jack – and closed his eyes.

Fraiser felt the warmth next to her, and reacted automatically. She wasn't used to sleeping with anything big fuzzy and warm like Jack was, but the reaction was the same. Her hand came up to his shoulder and the bad dream she'd been having – a Jaffa coming up out of nowhere, pointing a staff weapon at her and firing – was eased until her breathing relaxed once more, and her heart stopped beating quite so fast. Within moments, she was sleeping soundly once more.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That was how Sam, Daniel and Cassie found them a while later. They came around the curtain, and Sam smiled when she saw Jack sound asleep and Jaffer cuddled up to Janet. The black lab wasn't sleeping. He had been watching Jack, but his gaze went to Sam when she came into sight and the tail wagged happily, although he didn't move from where he was.

"Awww..." Cassie had been worried sick about her mom from the moment Sam, Daniel and Teal'c had met her at school and pulled her out of class – no matter how much they tried to reassure her – but when she saw Jaffer snuggled up to Janet instead of Jack, she had to smile, too. It was completely unexpected, but it reassured her more than any words Sam had said on the way over. If Jaffer was watching her mom, then nothing could be wrong, right?

"That's different," Daniel said, softly, looking over at Jack to make sure he didn't wake him up.

"Yeah."

"Think she woke up and filched him from Jack while he was sleeping?" Daniel asked.

Cassie smiled, and Sam wrapped her arms around the girl from behind, hugging her tightly.

"We should let them sleep, honey. We can stay close by, or have someone come tell us when she wakes up. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Cassie had seen her, and knew that she wasn't dying. As much as she wanted her mom to be awake so she could reassure her personally, she knew that rest was good for someone who'd been hurt – she _was_ a doctor's daughter, after all.

"Why don't we go get some coffee?" Daniel suggested. Coffee was always good, right?

Cassie had another thought, though. She turned and looked at Sam.

"Is that Emmett guy around here somewhere?" She asked. "Maybe you could introduce me to him?"

Sam smiled. She knew from talking to Janet earlier that morning that the girl had thoroughly interrogated Janet about Emmett, and wasn't at all surprised to find Cassie was interested in meeting him.

"I think we can swing that – if he's not doing an interview or something."

Cassie nodded, and looked over at her mother for another long moment.

"She's really okay, right? You're not just saying that?"

"She's really all right." Daniel confirmed. "Everyone's saying she'll be fine. They can't all be lying, right?"

"No."

"Then let's let them sleep and go find Emmett." Sam suggested. "I'll leave orders for them to page us when she wakes up."

They walked back down the corridor, leaving Jack and Janet to their sleep, and Jaffer to his vigil.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Emmett was in the commissary with Ben. The cameraman had filmed a few different areas – with Major Quinn in attendance so there would be no mistake about him filming something he shouldn't – and had then hooked up with Bregman, who had set up quite a few interviews for the next morning. The fact that people had seen him eating with Jack O'Neill so companionably that morning did wonders for the way people were treating him that afternoon. If O'Neill could put up with him, then they figured he must not be so bad, right? After all, everyone knew Jack didn't put up with much crap from people – orders or no orders.

"So, I have Walter Davis at 9AM, Sergeant Silar at 9:30, and-"

"Emmett?"

The two men looked up at the sound of Sam's voice. Neither of them had heard Sam and the others approaching. Ben paled visibly when he realized who was there, and he stood up so quickly he almost tipped his chair backwards.

"M-Major O'Neill..."

Sam flinched at the reaction, wondering what in the world was wrong with the guy. Too much coffee, maybe? Maybe he was just high strung?

"Mr. Crane..." Sam said, wondering if she should find it humorous, or be worried about him. He looked almost afraid. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." His voice was a bit higher than normal, though. "I... need to go look at some film. I..."

"Don't leave on our account," Daniel said, also worried about the reaction, and wondering if the man needed to go to the infirmary. "We're-"

"No... I need to go." Ben told them, pushing his chair in. "I'll see you all later." He forced a smile and hurried out of the room, leaving his camera sitting on the table.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked.

Bregman shook his head.

"Maybe he's not feeling well." He said, covering for Ben's actions as well as he could. "The blood in the gate room this afternoon shook him up pretty well."

"Ah."

Emmett looked at Cassandra. He smiled, knowing immediately who she was – Janet had a bunch of pictures of her daughter in her purse, after all, and Emmett had seen them all.

"You're Cassandra!"

Cassie smiled, pleased at being recognized.

"Yes."

Sam smiled, as well.

"Emmett Bregman, this is Cassandra Fraiser."

Emmett stood and offered Cassie his hand.

"I'm very pleased to meet you."

She blushed at the sincerity in his voice, and Sam smiled.

"I'm glad to meet you, too," Cassie told him. "My mom's told me a lot about you."

"Good or bad?"

"Good."

"Then it's all true."

Cassie grinned.

"Did you go see your mom?" Emmett asked.

Cassie nodded.

"She's sleeping. They're going to page us when she wakes up."

"Then why don't you sit down and tell me something about yourself?" Emmett said, gesturing to the seat Ben had vacated so suddenly. "Your mom's told me a lot about you, too, but I'll bet there's more for me to know."

Pleased at the invitation, Cassie sat down. Sam had already told her what Emmett knew and what he didn't know pertaining to the Stargate and where Cassie was from, so she didn't mind sitting and talking to him. He seemed like a nice guy.


	30. 30

It wasn't pain that finally pulled Janet Fraiser from her drug-induced sleep. She was so medicated that she didn't even feel an ache. It wasn't discomfort, either. She was warm, and comfortable. It was the smell of strawberries.

The odor permeated the air around her, and she knew in her subconscious mind that that was out of place. She _liked_ strawberries, but she wasn't cooking anything with strawberries just then, and she couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. It was the conundrum of it all that finally woke her up.

She opened her eyes and found herself looking up at the ceiling of the infirmary. This wasn't common, and that only added to the puzzlement as far as she was concerned. She lay still for a long moment, staring at the ceiling and trying to remember what had happened to bring her to this point.

She remembered... the rescue mission. Remembered running through the brush, with her medics close by and a shadow running with her. A shadow that attacked her – no, it didn't _attack_ her. It pushed her out of danger when the Jaffa came up out of the brush and pointed the staff weapon at her. Janet shuddered at the sudden memory of that, and the fear she'd felt looking down the barrel, so to speak. There had been no mercy in the dark eyes of the Jaffa, and she'd been caught cold. And had been saved by Jaffer.

As if thinking of him had summoned him from nowhere, her vision of the ceiling was suddenly blocked by a big black head, complete with brown eyes looking cheerfully down at her, and a long, pink tongue that suddenly raked across her cheek. Janet brought her hand up in self-defense, blocking the next lick, and was suddenly aware that the warmth she was feeling on her right side was primarily caused by the heavy body that was resting so snugly against her.

Jaffer wuffled her cheek, easily pushing her hand out of the way, but he didn't lick her again. Janet suddenly found her face pressed against his shoulder, and she realized that it was the dog that smelled of strawberries. She wrinkled her nose, and took another sniff, just to make sure. Yup. Strawberries. Ah, well, it was better than _peaches_. She put her hand on the shoulder, and looked around for the first time, now that _that_ mystery was solved.

She was in the infirmary, all right. Dressed in a paper gown and bundled warmly in blankets, she was in one of the beds in the main room. So she'd been hurt, but not badly enough to warrant ICU or anything serious.

"Thanks to you, huh?" She murmured to Jaffer, who was looking over to her left, although he was still warmly pressed against her.

Janet looked over to see what had his attention, and saw that Jack O'Neill was asleep in the bed next to hers. He was shirtless, but his shoulder was heavily bandaged and his left arm was in a sling. Janet looked at the machine that was monitoring his heartbeat, respiratory system and his blood pressure. Everything looked fine, so he probably wasn't hurt too badly – although she wished she could see his chart, just to make sure.

She looked down at herself again, looking for the telltale bandages, and ran her hand down the gown until she felt the bandage on her side. Probing the injury gently – since she didn't feel even an ache from the wound – she decided that it must have been a glancing blow from the staff weapon. She remembered feeling the pain from it. She wondered how serious it was, and caught sight of her own chart hanging from a hook at the lower bottom of her bed.

She tried to sit up, and for the first time felt a stab of pain that elicited a gasp from her. Yeah, _that_ hurt.

Jaffer snuffled her cheek again, as if telling her to hold still, and Janet patted his shoulder, reassuringly. She had _no_ intention of doing that again.

"How long have you been sleeping with me?" She asked, looking over at Jack again, wondering if O'Neill had sent the lab over to keep her company. It wouldn't have surprised her. O'Neill frequently did that kind of thing, even though he'd never have admitted it if he had.

Jaffer's tail thumped the bed, but he didn't answer her.

"Don't think this means you can get on the beds any time you want to," she told him softly, tapping his nose.

Jaffer's lips curled back into a snarl, but Janet knew him well enough to know it wasn't a serious one, and the noise that came from him was playful. It might have intimidated someone who didn't know him, but those happy eyes were tell-tale signs that Jaffer was more than happy to be picked on by her in the absence of Jack.

"Doctor Fraiser..."

She turned her gaze from the black lab and saw one of her young corpsmen standing close at hand, looking relieved, although slightly puzzled at the fact that Jaffer was in bed with her instead of O'Neill, which was customary.

"How long have I been out?"

"You've been out of surgery for a few hours."

"Surgery?"

"You have a staff weapon injury to your lower side, but the kidney is fine – which was the only real concern. You'll be fine, the doctors say."

"Has anyone called Cassie?"

"Major O'Neill went to her school and picked her up. She's been in to see you, but you were asleep. She's off somewhere with Doctor Jackson, and Major O'Neill, but I'll have her paged so she can come see for herself that you're okay."

Janet nodded, then looked over at Jack.

"And Colonel O'Neill?"

"He took a hit to the shoulder and there's a few minor shrapnel wounds. Nothing serious. He should be able to be released in the morning."

"We'll see." Janet tempered. _She'd_ decide when people were released from her infirmary.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Let me see O'Neill's chart, and my chart, and you go page Cassie, please." Janet ordered, once more trying to sit up a little. The medic stepped forward and bundled a couple of pillows behind her back to support her so she wouldn't be using any stomach muscles to hold herself upright. Jaffer shifted slightly, but still made no sign of moving over to O'Neill's bed. He seemed more than willing to stay where he was, and his head rested on Janet's stomach, his nose close to – but not touching – the bandage covering her side.

The corpsman handed her two sets of charts, and left her to look at them while he went to page Cassandra – and Emmett Bregman – to the infirmary. Fraiser could decide if she wanted to see the interviewer guy, but the medic had given his word to call him when she woke up, and he'd do it.


	31. 31

_"Cassandra Fraiser, report to the infirmary, please. Emmett Bregman, report to the infirmary, please. Cassandra Fraiser to the infirmary, please."_

They were sitting in the commissary still when the pages came. Sam was still hanging out with Cassandra and Emmett – she didn't have anything to do that was more pressing than staying with Cassie until she had a chance to make sure her mom was really okay – but Daniel had excused himself and had gone off to his office with a full pot of coffee, mentioning something about an artifact he had to check on.

"Sounds like your mom's awake," Sam said, smiling.

Cassie echoed that smile, already standing up.

"Yep. Let's go see her."

Emmett, Cassie and Sam all headed for the infirmary.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Janet was looking through her own chart when Jaffer's head suddenly lifted from her stomach and his gaze went down to the other end of the room. Janet lifted her gaze from her chart to see what had caught his attention, and saw Sam, Emmett Bregman and Cassie all standing at the doorway, looking at her.

"Look! She's awake!" Cassie almost squealed, excitedly, reminding Sam that no matter how calm she'd been trying to act, she had still been terribly worried.

Bregman smiled, and gave Cassandra a little push.

"Go talk to her."

"Aren't you coming?" Cassie asked.

He shook his head.

"Not yet. You go make sure she's okay, first. I'll wait my turn."

"You sure?"

"Of course." He gave her another push, and Cassie headed for the aisle of beds.

Sam smiled at Bregman.

"I'll be right back."

She walked down the aisle as well.

"No wonder Colonel O'Neill always knows when someone's coming," Janet murmured to Jaffer. "He's been using you as a first alert alarm."

Jaffer wagged his tail, sitting up when he saw Cassie and Sam coming over. Yup! _He_ was the first alert security dog!

"_Mom_!"

In deference to Jack's still sleeping form – and that of several others – Cassie didn't shout, but there were a million emotions in that one word. Concern, terror, relief, joy and love to name a few. Janet could have sorted out another dozen had she not suddenly been engulfed in a very careful hug as Cassie came around to the side Jaffer wasn't on and wrapped her arms around Janet, her eyes suddenly wet with tears that she'd been able to hold back until then.

"Hi sweetheart," Janet said, hugging as tightly as she could, pressing little kisses against her wet cheeks. "Shhh... I'm fine! Don't worry, baby. I'm fine."

Jaffer sat up a little more, looking over at Jack, but his view was completely obstructed with Cassandra in the way. Not that he minded Cassie – because he liked her, too! – but he jumped down off the bed and moved around so he could see Jack once more. Satisfied that his charge was still soundly sleeping, Jaffer went over to Sam and greeted her cheerfully. He needed out for a few minutes, and Sam was the one to take him, since his Jack was still asleep!

Sam ran her hands along Jaffer's big, happy body as she watched Cassie and Janet hug. She felt the sting of tears in her own eyes, but they were probably just emotions from the baby, right? Hormones and all that. She looked down at Jaffer, who was looking at her, expectantly.

"You need to go out, don't you?"

Oh, yes! He most certainly did!

Which explained why he didn't join Jack on the bed once he'd abandoned Janet, Sam decided.

"I'll be right back," she whispered to the pair of Fraiser's. Unsure if they heard her, she turned and headed for the door, with Jaffer trotting at her side.

"Is she all right?" Emmett asked as Sam approached. He looked down at Jaffer, lowering his hand hesitantly. He'd let the lab decide if he could pet him or not. Jaffer sniffed the fingers, looking for a treat, but didn't find anything worth biting. Bregman ran his hand along the big head once in a friendly pat, but decided not to press his luck.

"She's fine," Sam assured him. "They probably should have a few minutes alone, though, so Janet can make sure Cassie is reassured – no one better to do that than her mother, after all."

"Especially since she's a doctor, right?" Emmett said.

"Exactly." Sam smiled. "I'm going to take Jaffer out for a few minutes. Why don't you join us? By the time we get back, Janet will probably be up for a bit more company."

It'd be better than standing at the door, feeling useless, Emmett decided. He nodded, and gestured for the two of them to lead the way.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Are you _really_ all right?" Cassie asked, breaking the hug and sitting on the edge of her mother's bed, looking down at her, worriedly.

"I'm going to be fine, honey," Janet told her, handing her the chart. Cassie wasn't a doctor of course, but she had picked up a lot from Janet over the many years she'd been living with the woman, and when the girl had shown an interest in something medical, Janet had been more than willing to explain it. The girl could read a chart just as well as Janet could. And, since there really wasn't anything serious wrong with her, and nothing to hide, Janet decided to just let her see for herself.

Cassie looked through the chart, frowning over a couple of words she didn't know, but able to get the gist of things at a glance. She had a glancing staff wound – just like everyone had told her – and she had come through surgery fine. They had her on a hefty pain-killer, which was why Janet seemed to not be in any discomfort, and expected to keep her for at least a few days – if not longer – depending on her condition and if there was any secondary infection.

She looked up at her mom, and handed the chart back over to her.

"It could have been a _lot_ worse..." She was looking over at the other patients in the infirmary, and then at Jack, who was still sleeping soundly. Cassie decided that the medics must have really doped him up to make him sleep so soundly with all the activity going on around him. Probably to keep him from arguing with them for at least a few hours.

"It _could_ have been," Janet said. She never lied to Cassie. "But I was in very good hands."

"Jack's?"

Janet smiled and shook her head.

"He was too busy opening an escape route," Janet said. "Instead, he sent Jaffer to keep me safe." Janet hugged her daughter again. "He did a great job, too."

"What did he do?" She wanted to hear all about it.

Janet had no intention of telling _that_ particular story to her daughter. Cassie didn't need to know about the Jaffa getting his throat ripped out, or how violently Jaffer had shaken the man long after he was dead.

"I can't tell you. It's _classified_."

Cassie rolled her eyes. She was from _another planet_, for God's sake! If there was anything classified on this base, it was _her_. She knew this just meant her mother wasn't going to tell her.

Janet smiled.

"So... you met Emmett?"

Cassie went from rolling her eyes to smiling almost immediately.

"Yep."

"What'd you think?"

"He seems like a really nice guy. Sam and I have been talking to him in the cafeteria ever since we got here, and he's told me a lot about himself – and I told him some stuff about me."

"So... you like him?" She asked, hesitantly. If she wanted any kind of relationship with Emmett, it was important that Cassie like the man, too.

"I think so."

She wasn't one to give an immediate endorsement of anyone dating her mom, after all, but Emmett seemed to be pretty far up on the list of guys that Cassie would have picked for Janet. He was smart, and funny, and when he smiled it was a real smile, not a phony one. And he didn't talk down to Cassie, just because she wasn't an adult. Cassie liked all those things.

"Good."

Janet looked over at the door, but Emmett wasn't there. She wondered where he'd gone off to.


	32. 32

They didn't stay outside for long. Jaffer never strayed far from Jack for any length of time when O'Neill needed him, and even though the Colonel was asleep, there was no doubt in the lab's mind that he was needed. He did his business while Sam and Emmett looked on, and Emmett took the opportunity to bring up the interviews, although he wasn't sure this was really the time to do it.

"So... Major O'Neill..."

Sam looked over at him. Jaffer didn't need her watching him, after all. It wasn't like he was going to run off.

"You know... you could call me _Sam_."

Emmett smiled, and shrugged. He wasn't sure if _Jack_ O'Neill would really appreciate that, but what the heck?

"Sam... I was talking to Colonel O'Neill about the interview I'm supposed to be doing with you – and with him – and he suggested the two of you do yours together."

"He did, huh?"

Bregman smiled.

"I don't think he's looking forward to being interviewed."

"Oh, I'm _certain_ he's not," Sam agreed.

"But if _you're_ there, maybe he'll open up a bit?"

Sam shook her head.

"If _I'm_ there he's not going to say a word."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"So what do I do?"

"I'll talk to him."

He gave her a grateful look, but before he could thank her, Jaffer came trotting over to them. He was ready to go back inside.

OOOOOOOOO

The black lab led them back to the infirmary, and down the aisle of beds. This time he didn't stop at Janet's bed, where Cassie was still seated on the edge of her mother's bed. He went over and jumped up next to Jack, sniffing him without actually touching him, and then lying down next to him, positioning himself so he was lying in a spot that he could look across Jack and watch the Fraisers sit and talk.

Sam and Emmett followed at a slower pace, and Jaffer was already settled before they'd reached the others. Cassie and Janet looked up as they approached.

"How are you feeling, Janet?" Sam asked, coming over and sitting on the edge of Jack's bed to make room on Janet's for Emmett if he was brave enough to try and sit close.

"I'm fine." Janet said. Then she frowned when she realized that she'd done it again. _Fine_. There _had_ to be a better word.... "I'm _okay_." She corrected.

Sam smiled, as if aware of what Janet was thinking.

Emmett wasn't brave enough to sit on the edge of the bed. For one thing, he wasn't sure if Janet wanted him that close. For another, he wasn't sure if Cassie wanted him that close to her mother. They'd had a good talk, but you just never knew with kids – especially teenagers. He stood at the foot of Janet's bed, watching her.

"Cassie's going to stay with me, tonight, Janet," Sam told her, reaching down and taking Jack's hand in hers. She hated the thought of not having him home with her, but Cassie would be good company. Even better, she'd be good company when Jack was home, too. Jack loved having Cassie stay with them.

"Thanks for having her, Sam." Fraiser wasn't worried about Cassie having a place to stay. That was one of the best things about the SGC; there was always a place for one of their own to stay when the need came up. Cassie had told her while Sam and Emmett had been gone that General Hammond himself had offered to open his home for her, and that had been no surprise, either.

"I can use the company." Sam said, resting Jack's hand on her thigh so she didn't have to hold it up.

Janet nodded.

"He'll probably be released tomorrow afternoon. Unless there's sign of an infection."

Jack never had infections, Sam knew. She didn't understand it, exactly, but once he started healing, he healed cleanly. Which meant he'd be released tomorrow. She looked down at him, making sure he was still asleep – which he was – and sighed. She had things she needed to get done, and Jack was in good hands here – how could he not be, with Janet in the bed next to him to make sure he didn't need anything?

"I'd better get some work done while I have the chance. Will you have someone call me when he wakes up?"

They could always have Jaffer find her, but being paged was just as easy – and there was no guarantee that Jaffer would do anything someone else told him to do. He was fairly erratic when it came to other people, and everyone knew it. Jaffer would do anything for Jack, and Jack said he'd do anything for Sam, but everyone else was up in the air.

"I'll come find you," Cassie promised. She didn't really like the infirmary all that much – although she would never admit that to her mother. She had a few bad memories in this place, after all. It was one thing to visit her mother for a while, but she wouldn't mind a reason to leave by then.

"Thanks, honey."

Sam leaned over and brushed a gentle kiss against Jack's cheek – which didn't rouse him – and stood up, running her hand along Jaffer's shoulder, and left.

OOOOOOOO

They watched her leave, and then Janet gave Emmett a pointed look and patted the spot on the other side of her bed from Cassie.

"I'm not going to bite you," She told him.

Cassie grinned, and Bregman blushed slightly as he gingerly sat down.

"I didn't want to intrude..."

"You're not," Cassie told him, her eyes going from Emmett's face to her mother's. It was so easy to see they liked each other! Like a couple of freshmen on a first date, or at a dance together for the first time. She had to hide her smile in her hand.

"How long are you going to be in here?" Emmett asked, his gaze going down Janet's body. A paper gown wasn't the most form-hugging item of clothing, but he couldn't help but think she looked beautiful.

"A few days, most likely." Janet blushed slightly, wishing she were wearing a little make-up, or at least something a little more exciting than a paper gown. "Are we going to have to do my interview in here?"

"No." Emmett smiled, and reached out and touched her hand, but started to move his hand almost immediately. Janet caught it, though, before he could, and held his hand in hers. "I don't want you – or any of the others – to be interviewed when you're not feeling your best. It'll show on the camera."

He squeezed her hand gently, and the two of them smiled at each other, lost in their own little world for just a moment. It was almost embarrassing for Cassie, who liked it, but was still a little uncomfortable. After all, it was her _mom_ they were talking about here.

"Do you want anything to eat, mom?" Cassie asked. "Or to drink?"

Janet flushed, and turned her head back to Cassie, worried that she was going to see a resentful expression on the girl's face. There wasn't, though. Only amusement and approval.

"Uh... yes, honey, please? I could use some coffee."

"Can you have coffee?" Emmett asked.

"Of course I can."

There was no argument, of course. You didn't argue with a doctor in her own infirmary.

"I'll get you some," Cassie said, standing up. "I'll be back in a minute." And they could have some time alone, so she didn't have to feel like a chaperone. She turned and left.

Janet waited until she was out of the room, then squeezed his hand lightly.

"If you don't kiss me, I'm going to think you don't want to."

He blushed, but he leaned over her and pressed a gentle kiss against the side of her mouth.

"I wanted to, but I wasn't sure how she'd react to it - or how you'd react to it."

"She's not a child, Emmett," Janet chided him, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair. "And even better; she likes you and told me she approves."

He gave her a relieved smile, and kissed her once more.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."

"Not as glad as I was." She murmured against his lips.

"If you two are going to make out, you could at least close the curtain - or charge admission."

They both started, guiltily, and looked over at Jack, who'd woken up sometime recently, and was watching them with his hand resting on Jaffer's shoulder, and a definite gleam of amusement in his dark eyes.


	33. 33

"How long have you been awake?" Janet asked, blushing furiously.

Jack grinned, his dark eyes gleaming. Oh, he was sooo glad he'd woken up!

"Somewhere around..." Jack raised his voice a bit higher, '_if you don't kiss me, I'll just die...'"_

"I didn't say _that_," Janet objected, still beet-red.

Bregman snorted in amusement, despite the fact that he was just as red as Janet was.

Fraiser hit him with her pillow, which only made him chuckle.

"_Oh... Emmett... kiss me... I neeeeed_ –"Jack's teasing was cut off when Janet's pillow struck him in the face, but he was still smiling evilly. Janet knew she hadn't heard anywhere near the last of that.

O'Neill tossed the pillow back to Emmett, who tucked it carefully behind Janet's back.

"So, I take it you're feeling better?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine," Janet said. Damn! There was that _word_, again! "I'll probably be out of here before you are."

"What?" Jack scowled. "No. They said I get to leave _tomorrow_."

"I'm in charge of the infirmary, Colonel," Janet reminded him, her own eyes gleaming with humor, now. "I decide who leaves and _when_, and it looks to me like you're feeling a little under the weather..."

"You _wouldn't_..."

"Of course I would."

Yeah, he knew she would. Bah. The goober.

"Fine. Kiss him all you want to. See if I care..."

Janet gave him a triumphant look, and then turned back to Bregman.

"See? He's practically _ordered_ me to kiss you."

She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face close enough for her to kiss him once more, this time wetly. She'd intended for it to be theatrically naughty just to see what O'Neill would say, but a heated flush went through her at the contact, and Bregman deepened it before either of them even thought about it.

"Oh, g_eeze_!" Another voice interrupted them this time. "Get a room you two. Or at least close the curtain!"

They jerked apart so quickly that there was actually a wet sucking sound as their lips parted, and Cassie Fraiser made a face at both the sound and at the fact that she'd literally caught her mother sucking face with Bregman.

"I told them they should charge admission," Jack told the girl, who set a small pot of coffee and a couple of cups on the stand next to Janet's bed. "Is one of those cups for me?"

"I can't believe you _let_ them do that, Jack," Cassie said, pouring a cup of coffee and bringing it over to Jack.

"She threatened to make me stay here longer..." Jack said, taking the cup from Cassie. "Thanks, Cass."

Cassandra giggled, and sat down on the edge of Jack's bed. She certainly didn't want to get too close to those two just then!

"How do you feel, Jack?" She asked, watching him take a sip of coffee and set the cup to the side. Jaffer eyed it for a moment, but then ignored it.

"I feel like..."

O'Neill reached out and pulled Cassie close to him, ignoring the stab of pain from his shoulder, and pressed his lips hard against her cheek, imitating the deep passionate kiss the two of them had witnessed, and making loud wet noises which made the girl giggle even more.

"... a great big kiss!"

Janet blushed again, but she also hadn't missed the fact that a sudden movement like that had to hurt. Even though Jack hadn't even winced, she was doctor enough to know it must have. However, Jack was doing her the great big favor of relaxing Cassandra even further, and Janet wouldn't spoil that by nagging him about it just then. She loved watching him play with her daughter like that, even if it _was_ at her own expense.

"You two are asking for it..." She threatened.

"_We're_ asking for it?" Jack asked, incredulously. "_We're_ not the ones making out in the infirmary, doc..." He still had his good arm around Cassie, though, and he pulled her against his side once more. "Of course... Sam is going to be big and bulky soon, and I might need someone else to cuddle with once she doesn't fit in our bed... you interested in the job, Cass?"

"That's what you have _Jaffer_ for," Janet told him. "And I can't wait until Sam hears what you just said."

"I'll deny every word. She'll never believe you."

"Cassie will back me up, won't you?"

Cassie smiled, looking over at Jack, who gave her his sad puppy eyes. She hugged him, glad that he was always there for her and proud that she was one of the few people he let his guard down completely with.

"_I_ didn't hear anything..."

Janet scowled, and shook her head.

"Traitor."

"Speaking of Sam..." Cassie said, letting go of Jack and sitting up a little. "She wanted to be told when you woke up. I'll go get her."

"Thanks, Cass. Ask her to bring me something to eat, will you? I'm starved."

"_Colonel_..."

He looked over at Janet.

"Come on, Doc... I didn't have breakfast... for that matter, _Jaffer_ didn't either. It's after lunch time, now... Are you going to make me go all day without eating? Do you have any _idea_ how grumpy I'd get if I went all day without food?"

Cassie looked at Janet, who sighed and then nodded.

"Fine. Have Sam bring him a light meal. Nothing heavy – some soup and toast, or something like that."

"A _steak_, Cassie. And mashed potatoes." O'Neill corrected. "She's delirious, she doesn't know what she's saying."

"Bread and water, Cassie."

"Chicken."

"Just a piece of bread _crust_ and water..."

"A hoagie sandwich."

"Water..."

"Fine... soup."

Cassandra giggled again and hopped off Jack's bed.

"Keep an eye on them, Jack." She warned, as she headed down the aisle.

Smiling, O'Neill watched as Cassie left, then turned to look at Janet and Bregman.

"Round two?"

Emmett flushed, but Janet just smiled.

"How's the shoulder?"

"Fine."

"You shouldn't rough house like that when you're-"

"I'm fine, Doc," Jack assured her. "It didn't hurt, and she needed it."

Janet nodded.

"Yes. She did. Thanks."

"So... does that mean I get to leave here tonight?"

"No chance in hell."

Bah.


	34. 34

It was much later. Sam had taken Cassandra home with her, other family members of the other wounded had come and gone as well, and the SGC was closing up for the evening. As much as it ever did, at any rate. There were no more teams off-world, though, so unless something tried to come through the gate, or one of their allies came to them with a problem, things were done for the night.

Emmett Bregman was still on base, but he'd been forced to remove himself from Janet's side and go take care of some of the interview things, which was good, really, because Janet was tired, and she needed her rest. She'd denied that need at first, but she'd fallen asleep only a few moments after they'd all left her alone.

Jack was awake. His body had cleared the painkillers out of his system, so when he slept now it would be because he wanted to. True, he ached a bit – especially after grabbing Cassie like he'd done earlier – but he'd asked for a few Tylenol and had downed them, and they'd taken the edge off the ache. Now he was lying in his bed at the end of the infirmary, half asleep and spending some very quality time with Jaffer, who hadn't gone home with Sam.

The lab was wide awake, and stretched out beside Jack with his head resting lightly on O'Neill's chest. Jack was stroking his shoulder then his face, and teasing him lightly by pulling back the floppy lips and making Jaffer smile every now and then. Jaffer didn't mind. He loved playing with Jack like this, and his brown eyes were so cheerful that it made Jack smile every time he looked at him.

"We should probably take you out once more before I go to sleep, huh?" Jack murmured softly, mostly because he definitely didn't want to wake Janet up. She'd just call for a medic to take Jaffer out for Jack – although that would only work if Jack allowed it to, since Jaffer wouldn't go with anyone unless O'Neill told him to. Except Sam, of course. Sam was an exception. To a lot of things.

Jaffer's tail thumped against Jack's leg. He didn't really need to go out, but he thought it was an excellent idea. They could go get some fresh air and take in the smells, and maybe stop at the commissary and grab a snack?

"You have to be quiet," Jack cautioned the lab as he started pulling off the little suckercups that were connected to the monitors. He wasn't on an IV, so at least he didn't have to yank a needle out of his arm. _That_ always hurt. He swung his legs over the bed, watching Janet Fraiser's sleeping form as he did so, but she didn't make a noise. The joys of painkillers.

Jaffer hopped down from the bed silently, and then waited for Jack, who was only a moment behind. With bare feet and no shirt, he walked down the aisle.

"Sir, you should be in bed..."

He'd known the medics weren't going to just let him go, but Jack was ready for them.

"I know, Lieutenant," he told her. "But Jaffer needs out."

"I could have someone take him."

"Nah, he's been kind of grumpy, and I don't want anyone else to have to deal with his attitude."

The medic looked down at Jaffer, who wagged his tail cheerfully at her.

"_Grumpy_." Jack reminded the lab out of the side of his mouth.

The tail stopped wagging, and the head and ears went down, just a little. Of course, his eyes were still happy, and the medic had heard the reminder, so it wasn't as if she was really going to fall for that. But it was kind of cute, and she did have to smile. She knew that O'Neill wasn't seriously injured, so it probably wasn't going to kill him to take his dog out for a few minutes.

"Don't be gone long, Sir."

"There and back," Jack promised.

She nodded, and stepped a little to the side to let him pass, and the two headed out of the infirmary and down the hall for the elevators.

"You know, you're going to have to work on your acting skills, little man. That was the most awful portrayal of a grumpy dog that I've ever seen."

Jaffer wagged his tail. Yeah, he'd work on it. As soon as Jack worked on his lying skills.

The elevator opened, and Ben Crane – who had been on his way down to the infirmary to stand outside the door once more – debating whether or not he dared approach Colonel O'Neill – suddenly found himself face to face with the man. And the big lab. He paled immediately, and Jack's expression grew cold when he realized who was on the elevator. Jaffer caught the emotions, of course, and his tail stopped wagging, and his head dropped in warning.

"Colonel O'Neill..."

The voice was a bit higher than usual, Jack noted with some satisfaction. He didn't normally like to bully people, and intimidate people, but when he was trying to it was nice to know he could.

"Mr. Crane."

Jack moved to the side so the man could get off the elevator, but he didn't move. He was still staring at him, and there were a dozen emotions going across his face. Jack raised an eyebrow at him – again, a trick he'd learned from Teal'c.

"Are you getting off on this floor?"

"Um..." Ben swallowed nervously. "Actually... I was looking for you..."

"You found me. Congratulations."

"I... could we talk for... for a minute? Please?"

That was unexpected. Jack frowned, but motioned Jaffer onto the elevator. Crane pressed himself into the very corner as Jack got on, too.

"We're going up to the surface," O'Neill told him, pushing the button. "That okay with you?"

"Yes... that's fine."

They were silent in the elevator. Jack didn't know what the guy wanted, but if he was willing to get into a very small room with him and Jaffer – who was looking at him suspiciously – then it had to be important. To him, anyways. Which probably meant it was something interview related.

When the door opened, Jaffer stepped out first, and O'Neill gestured for Crane to precede him. The two men started down the hall to the first checkpoint, and were waved through by one of the four Marines on guard there.

"I wanted to apologize to you, Sir," Crane said. "We got off on the wrong foot – and it was all my fault – but I'm not really as bad as you think I am."

He'd been practicing the apology since he'd decided to tender one, but it didn't come out quite like he'd intended for it to. Jack looked over at him, a little surprised. He'd never have figured Crane to be a guy to figure out he when he was in the wrong and step up to the plate on it. So to speak.

"I'm listening."

Ben shrugged.

"I'm not... I really do have more respect for people than I've let on. You just happened to be there the two times that I suddenly turned into an idiot and put my foot in my mouth."

"Two times in _two days_," Jack told him. "About the two women I probably love most."

Ben nodded.

"I know. The... the thing with Major O'Neill... um... your wife..." He hesitated. "That was dumb. It was just a guy thing. I wanted to... I don't know, seem to be one of the guys, and that's what guys say and how guys act when a beautiful woman walks past."

"I don't." Jack said, dangerously, although he really wasn't as angry as he was acting. He was actually impressed with the way Crane was explaining himself. "Men don't need to act like morons around women just to prove they're men."

Ben nodded.

"I know that, now. It won't happen again. Not here. Not anywhere."

Well, that was a start.

"And the other thing?" Jack asked, as they went through yet another checkpoint and headed out into the open air, following Jaffer to the wide-open field that was designated a running area for the base dogs.

Ben swallowed again.

"I have no excuse for the other comments I made about Doctor Fraiser," he said. "She's probably a great person, and I judged her before I even had a chance to get to know her. Emmett's crazy about her – which tells me she's probably something special."

The younger man watched as Jaffer took off, running across the open ground far more quickly than you'd think a dog his size could go, but then he turned to Jack.

"My mom was in the Army. She got pregnant, had me, and dumped me and my dad, both. She decided she didn't want the responsibility of a family. She wanted to be able to see the world and all that shit, and didn't want baggage."

"Not everyone's like that."

"No. I know. And people don't have to be in the military to split up. I know that, too. There's bastards everywhere, they're not confined to uniforms."

Wow. The boy'd been doing some serious thinking, obviously. Jack was more impressed than he thought he should be.

"I just over reacted when Emmett told me he'd went out with Fraiser –"

"_Doctor_ Fraiser," Jack corrected.

"Doctor Fraiser." Ben nodded. "I could see he looked happy, and I instantly thought she'd hurt him and jumped all over her character because of it. It was wrong, and I'll apologize to her for it."

"She doesn't know about it." Unless Bregman had told her, but Jack doubted he had. "She doesn't need to know about it."

"Should I apologize to your wife?"

"No. She doesn't know about that, either, and I don't want you telling her anything."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack scowled, and held out his hand to the other man. If the guy was man enough to admit his mistakes and come clean on them – and as far as Jack was concerned, he'd done that and _more_ – then Jack could bury the hatchet.

"I accept your apology, though, on behalf of both of them."

Ben looked startled, and almost flinched when Jack had put his hand out. But he smiled, mostly in relief, and took the offered hand.

"Thank you, Colonel O'Neill."


	35. 35

Jack didn't exactly go straight back to the infirmary like he'd told the medic he would. He stopped off at a bathroom – Jaffer wasn't the only one with needs to take care of, after all, and he didn't like having that kind of thing so closely monitored like they were apt to do in the infirmary – and then the two of them headed for the commissary.

They didn't stick around long, though. Just long enough for the two of them to split a sandwich and to polish off a bowl of ice cream each. Just a snack before he had to endure the long evening hours, Jack told Jaffer. Jaffer didn't worry about Jack justifying his snack; he just wanted to eat it!

"Back so soon?" The lieutenant asked sarcastically.

Jack looked over at the clock, surprised that he'd been gone for an hour. It hadn't seemed like that long.

"Well... I ran into a guy who wanted to talk..."

That was true enough.

The lieutenant smiled.

"You have crumbs on your bandages, Sir."

Jack looked down at himself. Sure enough, there was plenty of evidence of the sandwich he'd had. Eating one-handed wasn't easy, after all.

"Um... yeah... he wanted to talk over a bite to eat..."

The smile never faded, and Jack knew he was lucky it hadn't been Janet who'd caught him.

"You'd better get back to bed, Colonel."

"On my way."

He walked down the aisle, noting that everyone had pretty much fallen asleep – even though it was still fairly early and if they hadn't been injured they would probably be at home wide awake. Stopping at Janet's bed, he pulled her blankets up a bit and tucked them around her gently – it wouldn't do to wake her up and let her find him out of bed, after all – and then he went over and sat down on his own bed. Jaffer jumped up beside him, and Jack leaned against him, putting his good arm around the lab, and pressing his cheek against the warm shoulder.

What a day.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"So..."

Sam looked over at Cassie, but turned her attention back to the road almost immediately. She didn't often drive Jack's truck – she was more comfortable driving a smaller car that she could see all the way around – and she needed to pay attention to traffic.

"So?"

That didn't mean she couldn't carry on a conversation.

"Mom's pretty serious about this Emmett guy, huh?"

"From what I've seen and heard, it looks like it." Sam said. "What do you think of it?"

"I'm glad she's finally starting to get out and date..." Cassie said. "And I like Emmett; he seems like a really nice guy, and he has a good sense of humor."

"Do I sense a 'but' coming?" Sam asked.

"Well... he's only here doing a documentary, right? How long will that last?"

"He should be in the SGC a week – maybe two, now that so many people were hurt and he'll have to wait for some interviews."

"Then what?" Cassie asked. "He leaves? And mom never sees him again?"

Sam shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure they'll figure something out, though, if they decide they want to pursue a lasting relationship."

"He could be good for mom."

"I agree."

"But I don't want her to get hurt when he leaves."

"Your mom's a grownup, Cassie. I'm sure she'll be okay."

"And if she isn't?"

"Then it'll be up to you and me and those who love her to make sure she doesn't have time to think about him too much." Sam told her. "But you might be asking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If they love each other, they'll figure out a way."

"Like you and Jack?"

Sam smiled.

"Exactly."

"I hope I find someone as great as Jack when I'm ready to get married." Cassie said, smiling.

"You'll probably find someone better."

"Better than Jack?" She shook her head. Jack was the epitome of what a guy should be as far as Cassie was concerned. "I don't think so."

"He snores, you know?"

"No he doesn't."

"He does. And he leaves the seat up in the bathroom."

Cassie snickered, and Sam smiled.

"You know who's cute?" Cassie asked.

"Who?"

"That cameraman that came in with Emmett."

"Ben?"

"Is that his name?"

"Ben Crane." Sam confirmed, looking over again. "You don't think he's a little old?"

"He's young looking. I'll be he's not more than 25."

"I think 25 is too old." Sam said. "Besides, he's really high strung or something. He's always running away when I see him."

"He's cute." Cassie repeated. "Maybe I'll see if Emmett will introduce me to him. Just... to meet him."

Sam privately decided that she needed to have a talk with Jack about a certain cameraman, just to make sure the young man knew that Cassandra Fraiser was off-limits, even in the capacity of secret admirer.

"What do you want for dinner?" Sam asked, deciding that the topic needed to be changed.

"Tacos?"

"Sounds fine."

"I wonder if Ben likes tacos..." Cassie mused.

Sam sighed.


	36. 36

The paper airplane sailed right past Janet Fraiser's nose and on towards its intended target, landing in a spectacular crash against the CO of SG-10's pristine white cast. The Captain grinned, and used her good arm to send her own forces out against the intruders – which were coming from all directions. A Sergeant from the other end of the infirmary flung a speedy, super aerodynamic plane towards the Captain missed her completely and the pointed end of the doomed plane landed in Janet Fraiser's ear.

Jack O'Neill snickered at the look of annoyance that crossed Fraiser's face as she picked up the plane and added it to a growing stack of confiscated aircraft at the foot of her bed.

"Colonel..."

He gave her an innocent look, even as a big glider came soaring in and hit him in the forehead. Jack picked the plane up, and smiled when he saw that someone had actually drawn a little pilot guy in the cockpit and a flag on the side with the letters USAF. Of course, they were all just as bored as he was, so why not add a little extra artwork? With a practiced flick of his only free hand, Jack sent the little pilot out on another mission, aiming for the Science officer of SG-3.

"Doctor?" His pilot sent away, Jack had a moment to spare, even as he reached for another piece of paper from a large stack at his side. He had to replace the lost airplane, after all.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm not sleepy."

None of them were. They'd all slept well through the night, and in the morning had been given a healthy breakfast before the duty shifts changed and new personnel came in to take care of the patients in the infirmary. Jaffer had been fed, and Sam had shown up almost immediately after they'd all had breakfast, looking a little pale, but assuring him after she kissed him and Jaffer both that she was okay, and had taken one of Fraiser's little pills to stave off the morning sickness enough that she could have some breakfast.

She asked him how he was doing, then went over and made a fuss over Janet for a while, much to Jack's amusement and that of all the other patients. Fraiser finally kicked her out of the infirmary, and Jack had her take Jaffer with her, deciding the lab definitely needed to get some fresh air and different surroundings for a while. Sam didn't mind at all. Jaffer was good company and hadn't eaten any of her experiments in a long time. She asked if he needed anything, and he requisitioned a stack of paper. A great big stack, he'd told her. Enough to write a novel.

She noticed he didn't ask for an ink pen, though, so Sam had a fair idea what he wanted the paper for. She smiled, and brought him an entire stack – 500 sheets of perfectly good copy paper – and told him to have fun as she and Jaffer had walked out of the infirmary.

Janet was going to kill Sam, she decided, as yet another plane came soaring in. You'd think Air Force personnel would have better aim, she thought with a certain resignation as the plane crashed onto her laptop. She picked it up and added it to the pile, but already O'Neill was creating another replacement plane that would instantly be thrown to some target on the other end of the room. The plane would make its way from injured person to injured person – some wouldn't make it too far, if they crashed off a bed, or into a passing medic. These were the doomed planes, but there were plenty to make up for the losses – Colonel O'Neill could make a paper airplane astoundingly fast with only one hand – and sometimes losses were just part of the battle, right?

"I could have them give you something to help you sleep," Janet told him.

"What?" Jack gave her a look of mock surprise. "You'd dope up a more or less healthy person, just to get them to sleep?"

Right about then, she was willing to whack him over the head with a frying pan if it meant no more airplanes in her bed. And there was at least half a stack of paper on Jack's bed, waiting to be transformed.

"I-"

"Am I interrupting?"

Janet looked over at the new voice and smiled. While she'd been distracted by Jack, Emmett Bregman had entered the infirmary, followed by a very hesitant cameraman. Ben Crane looked around at the injured personnel, and was struck almost immediately by a passing plane – one that was probably meant for O'Neill and just hadn't had enough momentum to get there. Crane smiled, and tossed it back in the general direction it came from, then walked over to O'Neill, giving Emmett a chance to talk to Janet privately – as privately as they could with a full infirmary, that is.

"Good morning, Ben." Jack said, already making another plane.

"Good morning, Colonel. How do you feel?"

"Not too bad. I should be out of here today."

"That's good to hear."

They were carefully polite to each other, but there was no animosity in Jack's voice at all, and Ben relaxed a little more.

"Want help with that?" He asked, pointing at the plane Jack was almost finished with.

"Nah, I got it..." Jack gestured to the stack of paper. "You might make one or two for me, though, while Emmett there talks to Doctor Fraiser. I think they're getting killed faster than I can build them."

Janet ignored that comment, and the fact that even more planes were being assembled. She only had eyes for Bregman just then. He came over and sat on the edge of her bed, and took her hand.

"How do you feel? Any pain?"

She smiled, and shook her head.

"Just a little. Nothing I can't handle."

"Is there anything I can get you? Bring you?"

Janet shook her head again. She didn't need anything, and she didn't want him to leave just yet. He'd only gotten there, after all.

"Just your company."

Emmett smiled, and leaned over and kissed her softly, and was promptly struck by an incoming aircraft.

"Sorry, Bregman."

"No problem, Colonel." He picked the plane up, tossed it towards Ben, and ignoring the amusement of those who were watching, he bent and kissed Janet softly once more.

"They've been flying their little missions all morning," Janet told him when he'd pulled away. She was slightly flushed, but it had nothing to do with her injury.

"That's what they do, though, right?" Emmett asked her.

"They're not supposed to be doing it in my infirmary, though."

Janet wasn't really all that annoyed, of course. Of she was, she would have made them stop a long time ago. It was good for them to have something to do that would amuse them and keep them in good spirits. Someone heals a lot faster when they're cheerful than they do when they're grumpy, and she knew it. It wasn't as if anyone was going to have an eye poked out or anything, right?

A plane sailed past her from the other end of the room, and a moment later Jack clutched his face in mock agony.

"My eye!"

Janet sighed.


	37. 37

"I told you I'd be out of here before you."

Janet scowled.

"I could keep you longer, if you really want me to..."

"Come get me..." Jack took three steps backwards from Fraiser's bed, grinning evilly, and the scowl deepened. Like she was going to get out of bed just to keep him in the infirmary where he could annoy her?

"Jack..."

He turned at Sam's admonishment, and gave his wife an innocent look.

"What?"

Sam didn't even answer him; she just gave him her look. Which was enough. Jack rolled his eyes and went over and tucked Janet's blankets in around her – much to the doctor's annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Doc. Thanks for taking such good care of me."

The apology wasn't authentic, but Fraiser knew he meant the rest – even though it wasn't her, exactly, that had taken care of him.

"It's the least I can do, Colonel, since you are keeping Cassie the rest of the week for me."

"Speaking of Cassie," Sam said, suddenly remembering something else, "Jack, we need to have a talk."

"Something I should know about?" Janet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Sam assured her with a smile. "It's nothing big. I'll tell you about it later, if you remember to ask."

"Doc? Want me to have Jaffer come by and keep you company?"

He meant it as a tease, but she also knew that if she said yes, O'Neill would make sure he and the big black lab – and probably Teal'c's Jack as well – would be stopping by regularly. While Janet appreciated the offer, she didn't want to make Jack go out of his way – which he would.

"Thank you, Colonel, but I've already got enough work getting the fleas out of my bed."

"Shouldn't let Bregman visit so much, then."

He didn't dodge the pillow fast enough – Janet was wicked quick when it came to tossing them.

Sam laughed, and took his good arm with her hand.

"Come on, Colonel O'Neill. Let's go get some lunch."

Jack stopped just long enough to pick up the pillow, and he went over and tucked it behind Janet once more. Hiding the motion with the whole pillow thing, he brushed his lips against her ear.

"If you need anything, just call, okay?"

Fraiser smiled, and nodded, thinking once again that Sam was a lucky woman.

"I will, Colonel. Thanks."

He nodded, and called to Jaffer – who'd been flirting with the Captain CO of SG-10 (who had an entire plate filled with food) – and the three headed for the door. A paper airplane sailed past them, landing in one of the injured Sergeants' soup.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jack asked, figuring he'd better find out before he forgot to bring it up.

"Cassie."

"Yeah?"

They headed for the elevator.

"She's showing a little interest in Emmett's cameraman. A little more interest than I really want her to have..."

"And you want me to talk to her?"

Sam shook her head.

"I want you to talk to _him_. Just make sure he knows Cassie is off-limits, okay?"

"You want me to bully him?" Jack asked, pretending to look shocked.

"You probably won't need to," Sam said, smiling as they entered the elevator. "He's fairly high-strung, I've noticed, and pretty shy. Just... I don't know... mention how much you like Cassie, and remind him that if he does anything to or with her, you'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Oh, the irony!

"That sure sounds a lot like bullying to me..."

"But you'll do it, right?"

"Of course."

"Right now?"

"If you want me to."

"The sooner the better. Cassie'll be coming by when she gets out of school, and she'll probably ask Emmett to introduce Ben to her then. I'd rather he knew how we – you – felt before that happened."

The elevator opened and they stepped out.

"Okay. You go save me a spot at lunch, and I'll go find him and talk to him."

"Take Jaffer."

Boy, she _really_ did want him to intimidate Crane! Jack nodded, and gestured for the lab to follow him – he was going to anyways – and he headed down the hall one way, and Sam headed the other, content that Jack would take care of things. Like he always did. Of ourse, she wasn't aware just how easy it was going to be. Jack wouldn't even have to bully Ben, he'd just mention it.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Can I visit for a while?"

Emmett Bregman had snuck into the infirmary – even though he knew it wasn't really a visiting hour, per se. Janet looked up and smiled, and gestured for him to close the curtains around the bed. Now that Jack wasn't her neighbor, she didn't have to worry about being teased about wanting a little privacy. None of the other patients in the infirmary would dare tease her. They respected her needles too much. Or feared them. O'Neill didn't fear anything.

"I'd love the company," Janet murmured.

He came over and sat on the edge of her bed, taking her hand and kissing her softly.

"No interviews?" Janet asked, touching his cheek for the briefest of moments.

"We have one, but Colonel O'Neill came by and asked to talk to Ben for a minute, so I thought I'd sneak away while they were doing that."

"They must have had some kind of talk already, huh?" Janet asked. "Ben seems a little more relaxed around the Colonel."

That was an understatement. The fact that Ben would even be in the same room as Jack, much less actually talk to him, was a sure sign they'd reached some kind of understanding.

Bregman nodded, but he didn't comment any further on it. What happened between O'Neill and Ben was their business. Besides, he had other things to talk about just then.

"So... when are you getting out of here?"

"Saturday."

"And when will you go out with me again?"

Janet smiled.

"Saturday?"

"Good answer." He bent and kissed her softly, once more.


	38. 38

"What's up, Colonel O'Neill?" Ben asked, walking down the hall with Jack.

"I need to talk to you about something," Jack said. "In my office, where we won't be overheard."

Crane was suddenly nervous.

"I haven't said anything to anyone-"

Jack shook his head, realizing Ben thought he was going to get chewed out. Jack had no intention of doing that. This wasn't the cameraman's fault, after all.

"You didn't do anything, Ben," he assured him. "I just have a... delicate matter, and I need to discuss it with you."

"Um... okay."

What could he say, after all?

They were silent the rest of the way to Jack's office. The only sound was the clicking of Jaffer's claws on the concrete floor of the corridor. Jack held the door of his office open and gestured Ben through it, then shut it and walked over to sit on the edge of his desk, looking at the cameraman – who was still nervous, despite jack's reassurances. He well remembered the last conversation the two of them had had in this room, and it hadn't been pleasant.

"Doctor Fraiser has a daughter."

"I didn't touch her."

O'Neill smiled.

"I know."

Ben realized he'd been pretty quick to jump to the defensive, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "Cassandra Fraiser is seventeen, and barely that. She's sweet, adorable, and I've known her since she was a little girl. She's like a niece to me. Almost like a daughter to me."

"I can understand that," Ben told O'Neill, wondering what that had to do with him.

"Apparently, she's had a look at you, and has decided you're cute."

Ben flushed, pleased.

Jack scowled.

The cameraman realized that it wasn't something he should be preening about just then, apparently.

"Sorry."

"I have it on good information that Cassie's going to ask Emmett Bregman to introduce the two of you."

"I'd like to meet her, Sir." Ben said. "If she's as great as her mom is-"

"She's _seventeen_. And if you do anything out of line with her, I'm _not_ going to be happy."

Ben paled.

"I didn't mean it like that, Colonel." He told Jack, hastily. "I don't... I mean, I wouldn't dream of trying anything with a minor. Especially with one that I just met." And one that had such connections! "I was just thinking that she must be someone special..."

"She _is_ someone special..." Jack said. "And I don't want her to know that we had this talk. How old are you?"

"Twenty one."

Well, that wasn't such a terrible age difference.

"You're not as big of a jerk as I took you for originally, Ben," Jack said. "And I respect the way you came and apologized to me. I like that in a man. But I won't allow Cassie to be hurt, and that means I can't have you leading her on. No big, toothy smiles. No innocent touches. No long looks across the room. Nothing like that, okay? You meet her, you say hi, and you pretend she's one of the guys. Unless you're gay."

"I'm not gay."

"Well... just treat her like she's 90 years old and has no teeth. Understand?"

"I won't do anything you wouldn't approve of, Colonel." Ben told him, nodding.

"Good. Because I'm beginning to like you, and I'd hate to have to kill you..."

"Um... thanks..."

"Okay. Any questions?"

"About the girl?"

"Yes."

"If I like her, can I start dating her when she turns 18?"

"If you like her, you can start dating her when hell freezes over."

"But you just said you liked me." Ben protested. "I'd-"

Jack smiled.

"What she does when she's 18 is her own business, Ben." He told the cameraman. "If you've a mind to try to ask her out then, then it's up to her – as long as you remember to treat her like she's my daughter, with all the repercussions that come along with that."

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm glad we had this talk."

"Um... yeah."

"Have you had lunch?"

"What?"

"_Lunch_." Jack said. "The meal between Brunch and the after work snack? Have you eaten?"

"Uh... no."

"Why don't you come with me and have lunch with me and Sam? Emmett snuck off – and I'm sure he's on his way to the infirmary, so we probably won't see much of him for the next hour at least, and there's no sense in you going hungry, right?"

"Sam? You're wife?" Ben shook his head. "I probably-"

"She doesn't know what you said, and I won't tell her." Jack assured him – again. "Just behave yourself around her."

"Um... okay..." He couldn't think of a way to get out of the invitation without pissing O'Neill off, and he didn't want to do that. "Lunch sounds good..."

Jack smiled, well aware of how nervous the man was, and headed for the door with Jaffer at his side.

"Let's go. I'm starved."


	39. 39

_Author's Note: I wasn't planning on writing the lunch scene, but since so many of you have asked for it, how could I say no? This would have been up much sooner if not for the fact that I tripped over Jasmine (my black lab) and ended up at the hospital getting x-rays of my ankle and wrist. (wrist is fine, ankle is badly sprained and bruising and swelling beautifully) So they gave me painkillers (yay, painkillers!) and I'm a little loopy right now... so I hope it doesn't come out in my writing!_

OOOOOOOOO

"So what does this Cassie woman look like?"

"She's not a _woman_," Jack told him, scowling. "She's a _girl_. A _little_ girl." His expression was fairly intimidating at the moment, and Ben decided it was definitely in his best interest to let things drop there, and not mention that at 17 a female was no longer a little girl. Besides, he had absolutely no intention of doing more than saying hello to the girl – young woman, since he was positive that Jack O'Neill would do everything he said he would. And if Jack didn't, the black lab that was walking beside him would.

They entered the commissary and Jack stopped at the doorway. Ben looked around nervously for Samantha O'Neill, but he noticed Jack didn't. O'Neill was looking down at Jaffer, and Crane realized why a moment later. The black lab's head turned, and Jack followed his gaze, and sure enough, there was the Major, sitting at a corner table by herself.

"He always knows where she is?" Ben asked, realizing O'Neill had used the dog's senses to find his wife instead of looking through the crowded room himself.

"Yup, he's my Sam Detector." Jack said, slapping Jaffer's shoulder affectionately and then walking off that direction.

Ben was just a bit more hesitant to follow. Despite the fact that he and Colonel O'Neill were sort of getting along, now, he really didn't want to be too close to Mrs. O'Neill. He was pretty sure he was going to do something or say something and set Jack off again – which was the last thing he wanted.

He watched as Major O'Neill greeted the Colonel with a smile, and Jaffer with a quick rub to his nose, then Jack said something to her and she looked over at Ben – who felt all the blood draining out of his face. Yeah, there was no denying it; Ben was terrified of Major O'Neill.

Jack waved him over, and he forced his legs to move, noticing that the Major was looking at him, concerned.

"Are you alright, Mr. Crane?" Sam asked, truly worried about how he was acting – even though it was how he always seemed to act.

"Um... yes." He heard himself croak out. "I'm... I'm fine, thank you. I just... I'm fine."

Sam smiled, although there was still a concerned expression on her face and in her eyes.

"I'm glad you decided to join us for lunch. Emmett wants to do our interviews soon, now that Jack's out of the infirmary, and maybe you can give us some tips on how to act in front of the camera..."

He'd rather eat nails than tell Jack O'Neill – or the missus – what to do. Even obliquely. Ben forced a smile.

"It's... um... easy. You just act like the person you're talking to is an old friend, and... um... pretend you're just catching up on old times."

"Let's go get some food," Jack said. He'd been watching the interaction between Sam and Crane carefully, but the young man seemed to be minding his manners – although he looked about ready to fall over. That was fine with Jack, since he definitely wanted the cameraman on his toes around Sam. She didn't need to put up with any young male macho shit, and Jack was fairly certain that she wasn't going to have to. Good.

"Yes, Sir..."

Ben followed Jack, who headed for the line of other Military personnel picking out what they wanted to eat.

"You can loosen up a little, Ben," Jack told him as he picked up a tray, and smiled at the young woman behind the counter. "Sam's going to think you're retarded if you keep stuttering like that."

"Sorry." Ben said, flushing. "She... well, she makes me nervous."

"She does? Or _I_ do?"

"You do."

"Remember that."

He paled again, and nodded, and Jack handed him a tray. Finally relenting a little.

"Just behave yourself, and you have nothing to be worried about. Sam's terrific. Treat her like she was your mother." The words were out before Jack could realize that Ben's mother wasn't a role model for the younger man, and probably the last person he should have mentioned as someone to treat Sam like, but the cameraman didn't seem to notice.

"She's too young to be my mother, Sir."

"Then treat her like she's _my_ mother."

Oh, yeah. How much more protective of his mother would O'Neill be than he already as of his wife? Ben had to smile at that. He'd probably die if Jack tried to introduce him to his mother.

"I'll work on it."

"You do that."

They loaded their trays – Ben noticed that Jack took a lot of food for a guy his size – and went back to join Sam and Jaffer, who had stayed with the Major since the commissary was crowded and he didn't want people tripping over him.

Jack sat down across from Sam – leaving Ben with the unenviable decision of whether to sit beside her or beside Jack. He swallowed, trying to make a snap decision so it wouldn't look like he was trying to decide at all, and failed when he started to sit beside Sam, then changed his mind and chose Jack as a safer bet. At least there would be no accidental touches or anything like that this way.

"So," Sam said, trying to relax the man, who really looked as if he were going to faint. (And Sam knew all about fainting, right?) "How long have you been doing camera... stuff?"

"Since I was little," Ben said, watching as Jack broke up a sandwich and put it on the floor for the black lab – which explained the extra food, he decided. "I've always liked taking pictures, and on my 8th birthday my dad bought me a video camera – which was even cooler – and I fell in love with it."

He hadn't stuttered once, Sam realized, and he was actually gaining color – which was good.

"Did you go to school for it?"

"Penn State," Ben confirmed. "I graduated from high school when I was 16 – an accelerated program – and then was accepted there. I graduated two years ago and have been doing freelance ever since."

"Why freelance?" Sam asked, curiously. "Shouldn't you have gone to Hollywood? Made movies?"

Ben smiled, and shook his head.

"There's probably more money in movie making, but freelancing means that I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, and I don't have to settle down in one spot if I don't want to. I can see the country this way, meet a lot of interesting people, and I'm more or less my own boss."

He looked around the room.

"I never would have seen this place if I was in Hollywood."

Sam smiled. The young man was an interesting guy when you managed to get him to talk.

"Are you married?"

He blushed.

"No."

"Girlfriend?"

His face got redder, and Sam smiled, despite herself. She was embarrassing him!

"Um... not right now, no."

"Probably _never_," Jack said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Sam looked over at him, and then at Ben, who couldn't help but smile. Ah, he couldn't wait to see this Cassie Fraiser! She had to be something for O'Neill to be acting like this.

"What do-"

"I move around too much to have a girlfriend," Ben said, before Sam could ask what Jack had meant. "I haven't actually decided where to settle down, so I still use my father's address as my permanent one, and I spend more time in hotels than I do there."

"Ah."

Sam gave Jack a suspicious look, but he was concentrating just then on handing Jaffer down a bowl of chicken nuggets, so he didn't see it – or at least, he could _pretend_ he didn't see it.

"So, tell me about your dad..." Sam said, rather enjoying the discussion. He was an interesting young man if you could get past the whole pale and afraid thing.

And so the lunch went...


	40. Epilogue

_Epilogue _

"So what's new, Cassie?"

Cassandra looked over her hot fudge sundae at Jack, who was sipping a cup of coffee. The two of them had the entire afternoon to themselves this Saturday – which was a rare thing for both of them – and Jack had suggested they celebrate their time together with a movie and ice cream. Sam was having lunch with Dotty Adams – and Jaffer had shown every indication of wanting to go with her, so Jack of course had sent them on their way – and Emmett Bregman was picking Janet up at the infirmary and taking her home, so with Jack and Cassie both at loose ends, Cassie had agreed, even though she secretly thought she was probably to old to go out for ice cream like that.

She'd had fun at the theater, though. Jack hadn't actually liked the movie all that much, but was always entertaining when he was bored, and Cassie watched with amusement as various other theater goers found themselves bombarded by popcorn and M&M's being lobbed at them from some unknown source. Every time they'd look back at Jack, he'd either give them an innocent look (if they were female) or a scowl (if they were younger and male). Either way, the patron in question would turn and look elsewhere for the source of the annoyance, and Cassie would stifle yet another giggle.

Then they'd gone for ice cream, and Jack had suggested they stay inside the restaurant – something he didn't get to do often when he had Jaffer with him – and chat. Which was fine with Cassie, who loved to spend time with Jack.

She shrugged.

"I think Ben is gay..."

"What?"

"You know... Ben Crane? The camera guy with Emmett? I think he's gay. Or maybe afraid of women – but probably gay."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded. Her introduction to him hadn't been nearly as pleasant as she'd expected and hoped it would be. The man was just as cute up close – cuter, even – but he'd only said hello, then had mumbled some kind of excuse to leave the room, and had barely said boo to her the next three times she'd seen him thru out the course of the week.

"He's not very sociable."

"Uh huh."

"He's weird around mom, too, you know?" Cassie added. "And Sam. He really doesn't like to be around Sam, did you ever notice that?"

"Yeah."

Jack took another sip of his coffee, thinking of a way to change the subject. He didn't need Cassie to know that he was the reason Ben was so timid around her and her mom – or Sam.

"So, Emmett's taking your mom home?"

Cassie's expression changed to one that was almost gloating – and just a little naughty. Not an expression he was used to seeing on her sweet little innocent face.

"Yeah. I think it's a good way to let them spend some time together, huh?"

"Yup. As long as you're okay with it."

"I am." She toyed with the spoon in her sundae.

"Maybe I should stay with you and Sam one more night... just to... oh, help you around the house or something?"

Jack smiled slightly, deciding that Cassie really had to like Emmett to make an offer like that.

"Sure, honey. I can always use a hand... around the house, or something."

She smiled triumphantly, and took another bite of her sundae.

"So what's new with you, Jack?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You know... I really can drive myself..."

Emmett smiled, and the arm that was wrapped lightly around Janet's waist tightened just a little.

"I know, but I volunteered."

The Doctor leaned slightly into his warm body, enjoying the closeness of him, and the protective arm that had her pinned so tenderly against him.

"Well, I appreciate it."

He let her go so he could open the passenger door of the car, and ushered her into her seat, making sure she was comfortable before closing the door and going around to the driver's side.

"Believe me, I wanted to," he told her, putting the car into gear, and smiling with pleasure when Janet rested her left hand lightly on his thigh. There wasn't anything too sensual in the touch – it wasn't like she was groping him or anything – but it was a sign of just how comfortable the two of them were getting with each other. He was always wanting to touch her – which wasn't so easy since she'd been in the infirmary all week – and they'd shared a few stolen kisses here and there, but now that she was out of the infirmary, he'd hoped she would be willing to spend the afternoon with him, since Cassie had gone off with Jack. And he'd been delighted when she'd agreed to let him pick her up and take her home.

Sam and Janet had been talking about the Major having coffee with a woman named Dotty – who Emmett didn't know – and Sam had mentioned she wouldn't be able to pick Janet up, and had asked Emmett if he'd mind doing it. It wasn't something he'd have suggested doing himself, because he was sure Janet would assume he was going to make a move on her or something, but when it came from Sam, it seemed a reasonable request, and Janet had agreed with a willingness and a smile that had made Bregman's heart skip a beat.

He rested his hand over hers, and the two of them drove in comfortable silence for a while.

"I thought you were taking me home." Janet finally said, looking over at him.

"I am."

"You missed my turn about twenty minutes ago..."

He wasn't all that familiar with the streets, she knew, and she hadn't said anything, assuming he would figure it out on his own, but they were getting further and further from her house, and Janet finally had to speak up.

He smiled, and pulled to a stop in front of a little brick house.

"I didn't say I was taking you to _your_ house," he said.

"Well... since you're not from here, you obviously can't take me to _yours_..." she told him with a smile.

"Who says I'm not from here?"

"_You_ told me you lived in Washington DC."

"I do... I _did_," He corrected, smiling, and getting out of the car and coming around to open her door. "Now I live here."

"Here?"

He pointed to the little brick house.

"_There_."

"But..."

She got out of the car, looking at him and then at the house, confusion apparent in her expression. Emmett smiled.

"It's one of the advantages of being a freelance reporter, Janet." He told her, putting his arm around her waist once more and leading her up the walk. "When I find a beautiful woman and decide I want to be able to have more than some kind of long-distance affair with her, it doesn't take all that much to move closer to her."

Janet blushed, and Emmett smiled to see it. He put his finger under her chin, more or less forcing her to look up at him.

"I'm _not_ rushing things," he said. "I'm more than willing to go as slow – or as fast – as you need to, and want to. But I have to be closer to you than Washington DC."

"I'm glad," Janet told him, smiling up at him, and then looking over at the house. "I wasn't looking forward to flying to Washington DC every other week to see you – but I would have."

He laughed and hugged her as tightly as he dared – she was still a bit sore, after all, and he knew it.

"I'll still be on the road a bit, but I intend to see you more than every other week – if you don't mind, and Cassie is agreeable..."

"I don't mind." And Cassie was old enough to understand that her mother had needs, too. She and Janet had already discussed that. Janet leaned into his side once more, looking at the little house.

"It's cute."

"It's just a rental – for now. I didn't really have time to actually look around for a house to buy, but a rental is good enough... it'll give me a place to hang my hat." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Want to come in and take a look? It's not all that decorated yet, but..."

"I'm sure it's lovely..."

Even if it was trashed and awful, it still would have been lovely to her. The thoughtfulness and the very sentiment _behind_ the house was all that mattered to her, and Janet felt the sting of tears as she turned her head up to kiss him lightly.

Yeah... things were definitely looking up, she thought to herself as he let her go long enough to pull the key out and unlock the door. He smiled a little shyly and took her hand, leading her inside.

_The End!_

_Author's Note: So... There you go! Janet lived, and even ended up with a significant other in the making... Ben lived – so far – and everyone's happy. More or less. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, favorite lines, worst lines... stuff like that. Also, let me know what you want to see coming... if it's something that will fit into the plans I already have coming up, then I'm more than willing to write a story about it!_


End file.
